CrossWise
by Chiwizard
Summary: Shadow may have saved the world, but GUN's going all out to hunt him down. Why? They need him to finish Dr. Gerald Robotnik's most dangerous creation - the most powerful monster that the world has ever seen! FINISHED! COMPLETED! WE ARE DONE!
1. Prelude

Oh look, it's another 'Shadow Survives' fic.  
But this one has my private ideas inside!  
I don't own any of the characters, except some people that come much later who I will also introduce later  
This is 1OO% Shadow POV.   
  
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First it was dark.  
  
  
But I've spent my life in the darkness. It means nothing to me.  
  
  
Then it was cold.  
  
  
The place I'd spent the last fifty years was cold. I was used to cold.  
  
  
Then I felt myself begin to burn.  
  
  
The pain was swift, and almost unbearable.  
  
  
Maria…  
  
  
I fulfilled my promise…but why doesn't it feel like enough?  
  
  
You sacrificed your life for me, but…  
  
  
You said you always wanted me to be happy.  
  
  
Deep down, I can feel it.  
  
  
I don't want to die…  
  
  
"CHAOS CONTROL!"  
  
  
Darkness…  
  
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Yeah, it's not the world's greatest intro. But I have get started somewhere.  
If I've screwed up with something, don't hesitate to let me know.  
After all, what author doesn't like honest feedback?  
That being said, please Review! 


	2. Rain drops keep falling on my head

Chapter 2!  
Once again, I don't own any part of Sonic.  
Also once again, please bear with me on mistakes.  
(I haven't really played SA2)  
  
  
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I woke up. There was some water landing on my face. Rain… I sat up, wincing.   
  
Rain? I made it! Maria, I didn't die! But I was getting wet. I opened my eyes to look   
  
around. I was in the middle of some woods. In a small crater, so I didn't fall from too   
  
high. The Chaos Emerald was still clenched in my fist. I pushed myself up and out of the   
  
crater, crawling into the nearest bush. My body felt like it was on fire. Burnt patches   
  
everywhere. The sink of scorched fur made me queasy. I wasn't seriously injured. Of   
  
course, I am the Ultimate Life Form. But I was exhausted. What happened? Then the   
  
memories flooded in.  
  
  
  
"Say something! You fake hedgehog!"  
  
  
Sonic?  
  
  
"Why are you helping me?"  
  
  
Is that me?  
  
  
"Because I'm one of the good guys."  
  
  
Sonic and I…we saved the world?  
  
  
I remembered the battle. We had. But I had fallen, with no power left from my super form.   
  
  
Only a Chaos Emerald in my hand…  
  
  
"Shadow! Give everyone a chance to be happy…"  
  
  
Maria…  
  
  
Darkness again…  
  
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Okay, next chapter there will be a plot. These were here to provide background.  
I still would appriciate any comments.  
So R&R! 


	3. Lost and Found

At last! I now unveil...the PLOT!  
Gotcha. You have to read to find the plot, i'm not spoiling it for you!  
I own nothing from the Sonic games.  
I don't even own ANY Sonic games, or even a Playstation.  
Why are you still reading the complaints of an author with no Playstation?  
Read the fic! Go on. Read it!  
  
  
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I woke up feeling more energized. My only really serious injury was a second degree   
  
burn on my side. What had awoken me? "Search the entire area. We must retrieve Project   
  
Shadow at any cost." GUN. The people that attacked ARK, that killed Maria! They were   
  
after me, even now! And I don't have the energy to Chaos Control! They haven't come near   
  
my bush yet but they will. I crept out of it as quietly as I could. No one's   
  
looking…almost there… "There it is!" No! I ran. I don't have the energy to fight them. I   
  
dashed, an ebony blur chased by a horde of tanks. Going through the city. "Don't let it   
  
get away!" I'm not an it, stop chasing me! The burn in my side is slowing me down. Then   
  
it happens. The lead tank fires, and it hits. Oh, I'm not dead, not by a long shot! But   
  
the blast does cause me to trip and fall. I get up, and try to find escape. No way out,   
  
I'm dead…then I remember the Emerald. This will probably hurt… "Chaos Control!" I   
  
concentrate, and teleport. Not too far, I don't have the energy. But far enough. I'm on a   
  
rooftop, and I can barely crawl into a corner to hide as I pass out from exhaustion again…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I woke up. It's night. The night feels cold, but why am I not cold? Someone put a   
  
blanket over me…someone found me! I open one eye carefully. I'm still on the roof, so it   
  
couldn't be GUN. I see a figure. A hedgehog? He's not paying attention to me. I slip   
  
from under the blanket and hide behind a pipe. He turns to see the noise. "Great, he's   
  
gone…" he says it mournfully as he wanders over. He's holding something. A bracelet… It's   
  
one of mine! The one I lost when Sonic…I step out of my hiding place. "Sonic?" He turns   
  
to me. Blue fur, green eyes - definitely him. "Shadow? I thought you'd run off." He's   
  
looking a little strange. Then, he just grabs me and cries. "I thought you were dead! I   
  
thought I did you in…" I blink. 'He's been blaming himself?' Then I cry out as he   
  
accidentally squeezes my burn. "Ah! It hurts!" He backs off as I examine the very tender   
  
area. "That's one heck of a burn!" "Yes, falling through the atmosphere can do that."   
  
Sonic hands me back my bracelet, and I slip it on. "What happened? Why aren't you dead?"   
  
"I managed one last Chaos Control," I said with a smirk as I held up my Emerald. "So that's   
  
where the last one went. When we left ARK, we only counted six. Knuckles was on Rouge's   
  
case about it for days." "How did you find me?" "Well, the thing that tipped me off was   
  
the reports that tanks had been seen chasing 'what appeared to be a black hedgehog going   
  
Mach One.' So I was coming to check it out when I saw a familiar little flash of light.   
  
And there I found you." Sonic smiled. "So, why are tanks chasing you?" I frowned. "They   
  
were from GUN. They were at the spot I woke up in earlier, looking for me." A drone of a   
  
helicopter interrupted my story. "This is just a hunch, but I suggest moving." Sonic   
  
grabbed me by the arm and held a Chaos Emerald in his other hand. "Snuck it when Tail's   
  
back was turned," he said with a grin. "Hang on!" He concentrated. "Chaos Control!" We   
  
disappeared.  
  
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Ooh, a cliffhanger! (Not really.)  
I probably messed up in there somewhere, so if someone sees a mistake and tells me, i'd greatly appriciate it.  
R&R! 


	4. Shades of the Past

Next chapter is up.  
I do not own Sonic, and I barely know anything about it honestly.  
So, sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC.  
It was to create atmosphere! Oh well, moving on...  
  
  
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We reappeared outside an apartment building near the city limits. "Boy, doing that   
  
with two people takes it out of you!" Sonic said in his carefree manner as he pocketed his   
  
Emerald. I was still holding mine. I didn't really care if people saw me with it, it's   
  
mine. Sonic lead the way up many flights of stairs. He was talking about the awards   
  
ceremony they'd been to. When we finally reached the apartment I was ready to collapse, but   
  
that was dispelled by interior. It was a mess! Spare parts were scattered over the floor.   
  
"Sonic, where have you been!" The tiny, two-tailed fox marched from an adjoining room. "By   
  
the way, one of the Emeralds has disappeared. And I think you know where it is!" "Jeeze,   
  
alright! Here!" Sonic tossed the fox boy his Emerald. "But be sure it was for a good and   
  
noble cause!" He stepped forward, and the fox could see me now. "Sonic, who's that? IS   
  
THAT SHA-" Sonic covered his mouth. "Tails, shut up! We just got back from almost getting   
  
caught by GUN." Tails stopped struggling and Sonic let him go. "Okay, I'm calm. Shadow,   
  
is that really you? Are you alive?" "I should think my presence would prove that," I said   
  
dryly. "Wow, you survived a trip right through the atmosphere?" "No." I showed him the   
  
Chaos Emerald I carried. "Oh! Knuckles is gonna have to apologize to Rouge big-time!"   
  
Tails and Sonic laughed, but I didn't get it. I was just leaning against a wall when the   
  
sudden jolt of pain reminded me of my current condition. "Wow, that's one heck of a burn!"   
  
"That's what I said," Sonic said. It was very odd experience, being bandaged by a tiny fox.   
  
"It's really late. We should get some sleep," suggested Tails. "It is midnight, after   
  
all." They showed me to the spare bedroom, and I fell asleep immediately. Much to my   
  
regret…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The station shook violently.  
  
I could feel the deck plating under my feet shudder as I was pulled along.  
  
"We have to hurry, Shadow!"  
  
"Maria, what's happening?"  
  
"They're attacking the ARK!"  
  
She took me to the Control Room and put me in one of the escape pods.  
  
"Maria, what's going on?"  
  
She watched me sadly.  
  
"The bad people outside want to destroy us and you."  
  
"Destroy me?"  
  
"They want to make you evil like them. Promise me you won't be evil like them."  
  
"Of course I promise. Maria, aren't you going to escape too?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"I have to launch the pod from here. Shadow…"  
  
I waited.  
  
She pressed the buttons as a blast hit the Control Room.  
  
It knocked her down. She was bleeding heavily.  
  
"Maria!"  
  
She turned her beautiful face to me and smiled.  
  
"Shadow! Give everyone a chance to be happy…"  
  
The pod ejected.  
  
"MARIA!" I screamed as the next assault destroyed the Control Room entirely.  
  
"Shadow! Shadow, wake up! You're having a nightmare!"  
  
  
  
  
  
I woke up and sat up so suddenly that Tails got flung into the air. Luckily, he   
  
used his tails to hover. "Whoa!" "Sorry! You startled me." I untangled myself from my   
  
sheets as Tails landed. "Are you okay? I went for a glass of water and you were screaming   
  
bloody murder in your sleep!" "Just a memory," I said, trying to push it to the back of my   
  
mind. "If you're sure…" Tails watched me for a second before leaving the room. Deciding   
  
that sleep was out of the question at this point, I followed him to the kitchen. "You   
  
hungry, Shadow?" "I guess…what's this?" "It's Sonic's favorite cereal, Sugar-O's. I   
  
wouldn't eat them if you paid me. Here, I'll make us something." Tails was very good   
  
around the kitchen for such a little guy. I just sat back and watched. I was still holding   
  
my Chaos Emerald. I'm not certain why, I suppose I grabbed it in my sleep…I contemplated   
  
the swirling colors of it's surface until Tails handed me a plate of something he had made   
  
on the stove. "Careful, it's still hot." He had made three plates of this stuff, and   
  
seemed to be peering at the door expectantly. "Sonic sleeps like the dead, but this never   
  
fails to get him up," Tails giggled. Sure enough, Sonic dashed right in and grabbed a fork.   
  
"Goodmorningguys," he said before he began eating like a vacuum cleaner. I tried my   
  
portion. I'd never had anything like it before. It was good! I finished my plate right   
  
behind Sonic.  
  
  
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How's that for atmosphere?  
Tell me what you guys think, I really could use your imput! 


	5. Military Training is Highly Overrated

Everyone has been so supportive! Thank you, thank you all!  
I do not own Sonic or anything sonic related, except this fic and the original ideas within it!  
Well, i've been getting many reviews that ask why this is named Cross-Wise.  
If I answered that here, it would spoil the rest of the fic. Rest assured, all will be revealed within a few more chapters!  
Shadow POV, you get the idea.  
  
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"Okay, back to what you said yesterday. You're sure GUN is after you?" Sonic's   
  
expression was as serious as it ever gets, normally. "I distinctly heard the words Secure   
  
Project Shadow, in that order." "Okay, that's a definite downer." Tails was doing   
  
something in his room. We'd heard an explosion before, but Tails claimed it was nothing.   
  
Sonic is friends with weird people. "Why would they be after you, Shadow?" "The same   
  
reason they destroyed the ARK for. All they want is more power." Tails came out, wearing a   
  
big backpack. "Okay, I'm ready to go!" "Go?" "Well, the last time GUN went after one of   
  
you, our house got trashed! So I figure we should leave. Besides, I have to return our   
  
Chaos Emeralds to Knuckles." "Makes sense," Sonic lead the way down the stairs. Outside   
  
the building was calm. For about five seconds. Then GUN units started appearing   
  
everywhere. "All this for one hedgehog? Man, Shadow what is it with you and the military?"   
  
"I can't help it if I'm superior," I say with a smirk. "Whatever, copycat." "Freeze! Put   
  
your hands on your heads, and put everything you're carrying down now!" "How?" Sonic   
  
called back. "What was that?" "I asked how are we supposed to not move, put our hands on   
  
our heads, and put down our stuff at the same time?" "Uh…" I rolled my eyes. "Pathetic,"   
  
I say under my breath. "Watch out you guys," Tails said as his backpack changed into a   
  
walker. "Climb on before that guy figures out what you said." Sonic and I clambered on and   
  
watched as the walker turned into a jet and flew us away. "My latest invention!"  
  
  
  
  
Tails flew us to Angel Island. The world really is an amazing place. I never would   
  
have thought that an island actually floated. We landed. Rouge and Knuckles were waiting   
  
for us inside. I thoroughly enjoyed the shocked looks they had when they saw me. Tails was   
  
giving Knuckles the two Emeralds he had when Rouge popped the question of how had I   
  
survived. I just showed them my Chaos Emerald. Saying the same thing over and over gets   
  
downright annoying after a while. "AHA! SEE! I NEVER TOOK YOUR EMERALD! SEE! SEE!"   
  
Knuckles muttered a curse and demanded I give him my Emerald. "No," I said in a perfectly   
  
calm manner. I could see he was prepared to fight me for it. I just turned my back on him   
  
and walked outside. I listened as the sounds of a roaring argument echoed from inside. It   
  
was a bit amusing at first, but then I got bored and wandered off. I thought about the   
  
Chaos Emerald. It was strange, how I had found it. I was falling through space, just   
  
starting to brush the atmosphere, and it just appeared in my hand. I had absolutely no idea   
  
how it did that, but that's exactly what happened. I thought about it as I gazed past the   
  
edge of the island. That's when I saw the jets.  
  
  
  
  
'NO! NOT NOW!' I ran across the uneven ground to the others. They were outside the   
  
cave looking for me. Before I could get very far, the GUN jets roared overhead. The   
  
shockwaves from their passing knocked everyone for a loop, including me. Ultimate Life Form   
  
or not, I'm only flesh and blood. I could sense one of the jets hovering over me, and as it   
  
launched a stun net I held my Emerald close and mentally begged for help. It glowed and   
  
vanished inside of me, but before that could really register that the stun net knocked me   
  
out.  
  
  
  
  
  
"The subject refuses to cooperate, sir."  
  
"Are these things even safe?"  
  
"Quite safe sir, we've tested them extensively."  
  
"…Alright. Do it but if it dies I'm holding you responsible."  
  
"Yes sir. Inject the nanos!"  
  
Nanos?  
  
What's happening? Where am I? Suddenly it hits me.  
  
Pain. Overwhelming, unbelievable pain. Burning up in reentry was less painful than this!  
  
I scream and scream until my voice gives out. And still it burns! Eventually, though, it   
  
fades.  
  
I force my eyes open.  
  
"Look at that…all that and it's still conscious! What a high tolerance level!"  
  
I'm in some laboratory. Floating inside some greenish fluid in a giant glass tube in a   
  
laboratory…  
  
  
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How's that for Sci-Fi?  
Tell me what you think! 


	6. What do you mean, I'm in a tube!

OH MY GOD, DOUBLE DIGIT REVIEWS!!!  
I've never been so happy! I can't believe everyone is so interested in my story!  
Okay, I'll admit I have slightly low expectations. So, actually getting ten reviews is a big deal for me. Bear with me, I just had two sodas.  
Disclaimer: See previous five chapters. Plus...  
People have asked about the nanos. I know, I did an evil thing to Shadow. But I promise, he'll be better soon. Plus, that's nothing compared to what I'm going to do to him later.  
Heh heh heh...  
PS, [blah] is a special type of thought talking that will only be around for a few chapters.  
I may have just spoiled major parts of this one already...  
  
  
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I'm not certain how long I've been in here. Sometimes it seems like forever. They   
  
run tests on me, take samples of my DNA, observe my motor skills. I can't even begin   
  
planning an escape, the nanoprobes took care of that. Nothing but my eyes remains under my   
  
control. And it's not like they let me out of this stupid tube anyway. My life has reached   
  
an all-time low. Being wired up to machines and treated like this is a fate I wouldn't wish   
  
on my worst enemy. Well, maybe that stuck up General Vox. He's the one who ordered me   
  
captured. You'd be amazed at the things humans let slip in casual conversation. Right now   
  
he's here on 'observation'. I really hate him. Completely bald except for his stupid   
  
handlebar moustache. I tried insulting him once. But of course I can't control my own   
  
mouth. So I just glare at him. It doesn't matter, he never really looks at me anyway, and   
  
if he did he still considers me as 'Project Shadow', not a real person. They recently   
  
installed a new Nano Tube, as they're called, next to mine. I wonder what poor soul Vox is   
  
after now…  
  
  
  
  
I was dozing when the alarm went off. "Intruder has entered the base. Warning.   
  
Intruder has entered the base." The scientists all stopped their experiments and left. I   
  
tried to get a sense of what was going on. A handy trick I know. I sensed confusion   
  
mostly, but also a great deal of anticipation. Whoever was attacking the place was walking   
  
right into a trap. I could just sense whoever it was. Determined, grief-stricken, why was   
  
it so familiar? I felt the intruder get knocked out, and then carried to the lab. When the   
  
guards brought him in, my heart sank. The bruised, unconscious body they carried was Sonic.  
  
  
  
  
  
I watched as they opened the top of the tube and threw him in. He looked like he   
  
had fought hard before they got him. The scientists came in, all of them talking about some   
  
'correlation study'. They went to their work rapidly, and I heard the word 'nanos' and   
  
sighed. The large gaggle of scientists blocked my view at first, but I saw his tube fill   
  
with the same green stuff as mine. And I could hear him scream. If I could have, I'd have   
  
been trying to block the awful sound or running as far as I could from it, but the nanos   
  
prevented that. He fainted from the pain after the worst ten minutes of my life. The thing   
  
was, I could still hear him crying out inside my mind for a bit. It was like I had a direct   
  
line into his head. That was almost a relief. I had been dying for someone to talk to.  
  
  
  
  
  
He was out for a while; in fact, he was out for most of the rest of the day. It was   
  
an hour before the scientists usually left for the night when I heard him wake up. […oh my   
  
aching brain…] The words were perfectly clear. I braced myself while Sonic discovered what   
  
had happened to him. [AHHH! LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUT!] Since that was understandably very   
  
annoying, I cut in. [For the Love of Chaos, STOP SCREAMING!] That got him. [Shadow?]   
  
[Obviously. Now, calm down before you rupture my eardrums.] [What's going on? Why can't I   
  
move? How can we talk like this? And why can't I see?] I sighed. [Okay. We're in a lab   
  
under the control of GUN, currently under study.] [Study? I'm a free person! They have no   
  
right to 'study' me!] [Not that that has anything to do with our present situation.]   
  
[Guess not.] [Second, the reason you can't move. What do you remember before waking up?]   
  
[Well, I thought I was being carried somewhere, and then - ] [Sonic?] [Pain not fun.]   
  
[Hey, at least you weren't awake for all of yours.] [What did they do?!?!] [They use these   
  
things they call Nanoprobes. They take control of all the parts of your body.] [Is that   
  
why I can't see?] [No, I think that's because your eyes are closed.] I saw him open his   
  
eyes and look around. [Whoa. Egg-head would have a field day to be in here. Shadow?]   
  
[Right next to you.] He saw me then. The monitoring equipment our little tubes were on was   
  
curved slightly, so it was easy to see each other even though we couldn't move our heads. I   
  
could see him trying to talk with his mouth. [You can't move anything but your eyes,   
  
remember?] [I was kinda hoping you were exaggerating that part.] [I never exaggerate.]   
  
[So, what now?] [Beats me. You're the first person I've been able to talk to since I got   
  
here. How long has it been, anyway?] [Believe it or not, just about two weeks. Uh,   
  
Shadow…] [Yes?] [How can we talk like this?] [Not really sure. Unless…Sonic, were you   
  
holding a Chaos Emerald?] [Maybe…] [Did it glow and disappear? Because that's what mine   
  
did when I was captured.] [Yeah, and it felt weird, like it was going inside me…] [That   
  
means that because we both carry Chaos Emeralds inside, we can talk like this.] [Never knew   
  
they could do that.] [Me neither.]  
  
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Mwahaha! I am so evil! In case you're wondering, I have no proof that Chaos Emeralds can actually do that.  
In case you aren't, just Review! 


	7. First Revelations

And, we're back!  
With school, and basic stuff, I may not be able to update as much as I'd like.  
But I know most, if not all, of you are in the same boat as me.  
So, to brighten up your busy school days, I will do my darndest to get these chapters up quickly.  
And now to the fic! I do not own Sonic, blah blah blah, Shadow POV (Just so you don't forget!)  
ALSO! In this chapter I shall at last reveal WHY THIS FIC IS NAMED CROSS-WISE!  
But forget my ranting, onward troops!  
  
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Having Sonic to talk to was nice. It gave me something to do besides examine my   
  
rather unpleasant memories. Unfortunately, I think I really freaked him out that night with   
  
my nightmare. But, nightmares aside, he was able to give me an update of things happening   
  
in the outside world, and how he'd found me. Apparently, he had received an anonymous tip   
  
in the mail about the GUN fortress's location. It had said to tell no one, but before he   
  
left Sonic had shown it to Tails and told not to tell anyone unless he didn't come home in   
  
two days. It was three days after Sonic's capture when Vox came again. He ordered the   
  
scientists away for the rest of the day, and stood in front of us. [Who's baldy?] [The guy   
  
in charge. Vox.] Vox sneered. "At last we meet, Sonic the Hedgehog. I am General Vox,   
  
Commander in Chief of the GUN Organization. I speak with you now to assure you that your   
  
captivity is nothing personal. We merely required more data for our work. Our Project   
  
would never have been the success it has been without your presence. Of course, I speak of   
  
Project Cross. As you can see, we only intended to use Project Shadow-" he gestured to me   
  
and I made a snarling sound in the back of my throat, "-But due to the insufficient data it   
  
gave us, you were required. I hope you understand." With one final sneer, he marched out   
  
and we were alone.  
  
  
  
  
  
I then began franticly trying to get out, not caring whether the nanos were active   
  
or not. I had to get out! [Shadow! What are you doing?] [I have to stop him! He has no   
  
idea what's done!] [Is this about Project Cross? What is it?] I sighed. [You know I was   
  
Project Shadow, and the Biolizard was Project Biolizard, right?] [Yeah, so?] [The good   
  
doctor had one final Project he never got to complete. Project Cross. I found the file   
  
once. It involves crossing his two 'ultimate life' projects to create something that truly   
  
was the ultimate being.] [Oh, man. Did he ever do it?] [No. He made a test egg of it,   
  
but the thing's DNA was too unstable for it to develop. And there wasn't enough DNA samples   
  
to run a comparative study. That's where you come in.] [Oh shit. And Vox wants to use   
  
Project Cross to control the world, right?] [Yeah, but that's where he's miscalculated.   
  
With the Biolizard's DNA, Project Cross is doomed to a similar fate. It'll go insane and   
  
try to destroy everything around it. It won't care if it destroys it's own creators or   
  
not.] I had to get out now! As my brain focused on that one fact, I felt myself begin to   
  
glow slightly. [Uh, Shadow? What are you doing?] [I don't have the faintest- wait!] I   
  
mentally slapped myself. I concentrated on being outside and free as much as possible and I   
  
glowed brightly and suddenly I was out. "Hraugh!" I vomited up some of the green fluid I   
  
didn't know I had swallowed. [What just happened?!?] "I think the Chaos Emerald Chaos   
  
Controlled by itself. Try concentrating as hard as you can." Sonic tried, and he glowed   
  
and appeared on the floor next to me. He threw up the fluid too. "Hey, I can move! Man,   
  
that stuff's nasty." I stretched. "I think we just got rid of the nanoprobes. Now, lets   
  
get out of here." Our Emeralds appeared with a flash. "Why not?" He said with a shrug.   
  
"Chaos Control!" We shouted together and were gone.  
  
  
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And the plot moves forward! By the way, I don't know if Chaos Emeralds can do anything I have mentioned or will be mentioning in future chapters.  
I've been told that no one knows everything they can do. Is the same true of the Master Emerald? *GASP* Oh no, a spoiler!  
Heh heh, Review why don't ya! 


	8. A Whole New Ball Game

I'm so happy!  
Twenty reviews, just like that! You people are gonna spoil me!  
In return for everybody's niceness, I'm posting this extra-long one.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic, but I own Project Cross!  
Shadow POV (Tell me if you think I should stop mentioning that,) And, now...  
On with the story!  
  
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We teleported to the top of the fortress. There seemed to be a big battle going on   
  
below us. "Tails and the others must be here. But where's Vox?" We ducked as a stray   
  
missile zoomed way too close over our heads. "I suggest moving." "No duh." We ducked   
  
behind some steel crates. From our new location, we could see the battle. Rouge, Knuckles,   
  
Tails, and some pink kid with a giant mallet against a horde of GUN troops. "What is Amy   
  
doing?!?" Sonic looked incredulously at the pink girl, who had just beaten the crap out of   
  
a tank twice her size. "It looks like she's doing pretty well," I said. "Yeah, but she's a   
  
psychotic maniac who's obsessed with me! And see, none of then are doing as good as they   
  
usually do." "I have an idea. You help them, tell them about Project Cross. I'll look for   
  
Vox." "Deal!" He jumped and used Homing Attacks to make his way to the others. I went the   
  
other way, trying to find Vox. I remembered Project Cross oh too well…  
  
  
  
  
  
"At last! My creation which is like no other is completed!"  
  
Doctor Gerald Robotnik cackled as he drained the pod.  
  
Unbeknownst to him, I was watching from one of the corners of the lab.  
  
I was curious, who wouldn't be?  
  
I had seen a snippet of the file for this new Project once.  
  
"Project Cross: to blend Projects Shadow and Biolizard to form the Supreme Ultimate Life   
  
Form."  
  
The Doctor carried what appeared to be a large, orange egg to the examination table.  
  
"Now, lets see what you look like!" The egg twitched and split wide open right down the   
  
middle.  
  
I couldn't see what was inside, but it looked like a brownish blob.  
  
"Underdeveloped…will require metamorphic period…"  
  
The thing moved suddenly, even my eyesight couldn't keep up with it.  
  
"What the-AHHH!"  
  
  
  
  
I grimaced at the memory as I zipped up and down the corridors of the GUN Base,   
  
using Chaos Control to avoid being spotted by the personnel. If I hadn't been there that   
  
night, Project Cross would have killed everyone before any of us realized it. After Dr.   
  
Robotnik and I finally wrestled the thing into confinement, he'd injected it with something   
  
before sealing it inside a stasis chamber. I could still hear his voice, making me promise   
  
never to tell Maria about the monstrosity he had almost unleashed. "The compound I used   
  
will disrupt it's cell structure over time, stasis or no. I plan to find a way to bring it   
  
under control before it degrades completely, so I can inject the antidote to the compound."   
  
He had honestly thought that it was a minor problem. My thoughts took a detour as I Chaos   
  
Controlled away from a pair of guards coming my way. I found I had teleported into a   
  
shadowy hanger. "Hah! They think they can defeat me? With Project Cross at my disposal, I   
  
can do anything I choose!" It was Vox. I ducked into the shadows and followed his voice.   
  
He was working a control panel on a huge growth pod. I couldn't see what was in there, but   
  
I could see it move. I felt my fur standing on end. It was too late.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I ducked back into the shadows as a wall caved in. Sonic and his friends came   
  
  
through the hole. I slipped over to them as quietly as possible. "Shadow? You don't look   
  
so hot." "Just take a look over there. Be quiet or he'll hear you!" We all snuck over to   
  
where Vox stood. He was laughing in the most annoying way possible. "Ew, what's the   
  
disgusting blob in the tank? Is that Project Cross?" I just nodded. "I say take it out   
  
before he lets it out!" They walked out into the open before I could stop them. I shook my   
  
head. "Suicidal maniacs." I ran up next to Sonic. "You have no idea what you're up   
  
against. I barely managed to subdue that thing when it was a hatchling, and that was over   
  
fifty years ago!" Sonic just gave me one of his cocky looks. That's when Vox noticed us.   
  
"So, little pests have come to pay me their respects. Why, Mister Hedgehog, I'm surprised   
  
to see you. I suppose you didn't enjoy my hospitality. And I see you brought Project   
  
Shadow. Foolish of you really, thinking it can help you." I growled in the back of my   
  
throat. I really hate being referred to as an 'it'. "Can it!" Sonic was as blunt as ever.   
  
"We're here to stop you from releasing Project Cross! Back away from the tank and you won't   
  
get hurt. Too much," Sonic said, almost as an afterthought. "Too late, fools! With   
  
Project Cross at my command, the world shall bow before me!" He entered a command into the   
  
control panel before any of us could stop him. There was a roaring sound as steam was   
  
released. "No!" Sonic lunged for Vox, but he disappeared into the steam. There were two   
  
new sounds - the sounds of shattering electronics, and a deep, rumbling roar I had hoped I   
  
would never hear again. Deeper in pitch than last time, but definitely the same one. The   
  
steam cleared away, to reveal a nightmare.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Project Cross reared up, much larger than all of us combined. It had grown in   
  
stasis. It looked like a mix between a giant plant-thing and an animal. The plant parts   
  
were dark-green and scaly, with purple pods sticking out at random points. They all   
  
extended from the creature's back, and interfered with my view of it. It seemed to be   
  
waiting for something. Vox stepped forward at this point. He cleared his throat, and   
  
Project Cross turned to face him. "Attention, Project Cross!" Vox said calmly enough. "I,   
  
General Vox of the GUN Organization, have revived you. You will obey me and carry out my   
  
commands. Now, I will give you your first order. You will go and conquer the world in my   
  
name!" "No." I shuddered. Project Cross's voice was so similar to mine, just a bit more   
  
raspy from the Biolizard DNA. "No? How dare you defy me! Just what do you think you are?"   
  
"I am Cross, the Supreme Being. I do not answer to you." "Yes you do, Project Cross! Now   
  
obey me or suffer!" Vox was pulling out a stun rifle. Cross was faster. He released a   
  
massive energy wave that sent the walls crumbling down. We were all pelted with rubble as   
  
the fortress was torn to shreds. We were outside now. In the sun I could see Cross's main   
  
body. It looked like a scaly, green with bright yellow stripes plus a wide bluish patch   
  
down the front, yellow eyed version of myself. Of course, Cross's features were slightly   
  
more reptilian than mine. He had a smaller version of the Biolizard's tail. He was   
  
feeling the air, trying to determine his location. It was a shock when he turned to face   
  
me. "I am on Planet Mobilus, affirmative?" I nodded slowly. He gave me a look over.   
  
"What is your designation?" "Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form. And you already knew that."   
  
Cross laughed. "That is correct. Your DNA was used in my creation, among others. And now,   
  
I am off to finish what I started." His tendrils formed into wings that he used to fly   
  
away. I was left shaking from fear. Sheer, undeniable terror.  
  
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What did you think? Too OOC?  
Tell me if you need an explanation on my weird ideas.  
Or if I screwed something up. Always tell me when I screw up.  
It doesn't matter what you write, just R&R! 


	9. Back to Business

Ta-da! Ten chapters! It's my birthday, it's my birthday! No it isn't! Party anyway!  
Oops, did I actually write that down? Uh, you can ignore the random cheering guys.  
Well, now that my one (and hopefully only) Author's Note is taken care of, let's get back to the story!  
I don't own Shadow, or Sonic, or anything related to Sega. I DO own Project Cross! He's alllll mine!  
Shadow POV, might be a little OOC, blah blah blah. Just read it already!  
  
  
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"Shadow, you know a lot more than you've told us! So spill it! What is Cross?" We   
  
were back on Angel Island. I held my Chaos Emerald tightly, still coming to grips with the   
  
fear I had and still felt on the subject. Never in my life had I ever experienced fear like   
  
that. Sonic poked me in the arm. "Hello? Shadow, you home?" I glared at him. "What?"   
  
"Like Rouge said, you seem to have neglected to tell us something, and I think it's eating   
  
at you." "Nothing is eating at me!" I stormed outside, ignoring the shock my behavior   
  
caused. "I am the ultimate life form! I'm designed to be superior to everything! How is   
  
this happening!" I was grinding my teeth and generally feeling very upset when Tails glided   
  
over. "Are you okay, Shadow?" "I'm fine." "Oh? Then why don't you look the part?" He   
  
hovered in midair in front of me. "You were snapping at them, and I can tell that's not   
  
like you at all. Do you want to talk about it?" "There is nothing to talk about." "That's   
  
not what you were telling yourself when I was flying up." The horror I felt showed on my   
  
face before I could control the reaction. He heard me? Oh no, he'll tell the others and   
  
they'll know what a disgrace I am… "I think I know what you're having problems with. You've   
  
been like this since Cross flew off. You're scared of him." He said it in such a   
  
matter-of-fact way it caught me off guard. I eyed him. He wasn't taunting me in the least.   
  
"Yes," I muttered reluctantly. "Fear is normal. You can't really live if you don't have   
  
good and bad emotions." "It was a different kind of fear. It was like…the deep fear you   
  
get from facing something you can't escape from and you know nothing you do fazes it in the   
  
slightest and it can kill you anytime it wishes and you know it knows that too." I closed   
  
my eyes and gritted my teeth, drawing deep breaths to control myself. "I fought Cross when   
  
he was an underdeveloped, two-minute old hatchling. I nearly killed myself just trying to   
  
keep him pinned him down. He's been growing and developing for the past fifty years. How   
  
am I supposed to beat him now if I couldn't even fight him then?" "I can see where you   
  
would be worried," Tails said thoughtfully. "But you're forgetting something. No one is   
  
going to let you fight alone. All your friends will be fighting right beside you."   
  
Friends? They thought of me as a friend? I had tried to kill them, both indirectly and   
  
directly. I had tried to destroy their world. And they called me a friend? "We're all   
  
your friends, Shadow. We want to help, but you have to let us." Slowly, I nodded. "Now,   
  
do you think you can talk to us about Cross?" "Yes." He glided in front of me as we made   
  
our way back to the cave. "Tails?" He turned. "Thank you," I said. "Don't mention it."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I stayed close to Tails as we rejoined the others. I was nervous, after all I _had_   
  
yelled at them before. But they didn't say anything at all at first. "Are you okay now,   
  
Shadow?" Sonic asked me cautiously. I nodded and mumbled "sorry", before sitting down.   
  
"Okay, Shadow said he'd tell us everything he remembered about Project Cross." Tails sat   
  
right next to me. I took a deep breath. "Dr. Gerald Robotnik started Project Cross about   
  
fifty-six years ago. His goal was to combine the DNA from the Biolizard and myself to form   
  
an even more superior creature." So far they were all listening quietly. "He succeeded in   
  
creating this creature 18 months prior to the GUN assault on ARK." "Wait, I thought you   
  
told me he never finished it!" Sonic protested. "He didn't. When Cross was first hatched,   
  
he proved to be dangerous and uncontrollable, attacking the doctor within minutes of his own   
  
birth. At the time he was…" I thought. "About my size. Brown, scaly. Kind of a   
  
shriveled little version of the Cross we saw earlier. I was watching the whole thing, and   
  
when the doctor was attacked I fought Cross." "And?" Knuckles leaned forward. I closed my   
  
eyes. "He beat me into the ground. If I hadn't been designed to take such rough treatment,   
  
he would have killed me outright. And I could barely even pin him down." I heard the   
  
others gasp in shock as that sunk in. "In the end, Dr. Robotnik managed to get him with a   
  
tranquilizer. He put Cross into suspension, where he wouldn't be a danger while the doctor   
  
figured out how to control him." "And he's been in stasis ever since? But Cross was huge!"   
  
"Stasis only kept him from escaping or killing people. It didn't do anything to stop his   
  
growth. I have no idea how GUN managed to find him, since when they attacked his stasis pod   
  
broke loose from ARK. He must have been in orbit this entire time." "And GUN must have   
  
found the records in the files they stole from ARK, right?" "It appears so." They all   
  
looked worried. Hah, they hadn't heard the best part. "But Cross told Vox he didn't answer   
  
to anybody. So what's Cross after?" "You aren't going to like this part," I warned them.   
  
"Try us." "If you say so. Cross's only desire is to cause death and destruction. He wants   
  
to obliterate everything on the planet. And now he's going to have an easier time than   
  
ever." "What do you mean?" "When Dr. Robotnik locked Cross away, he injected him with a   
  
special chemical called Compound X-490." "But that stuff's illegal!" Rouge looked   
  
horrified. "It was the only thing he could do at the time." "What's Compound X-490?"   
  
"It's a chemical that causes the breakdown of DNA in an organism, resulting in a slow   
  
descent into madness and eventual death. It was to insure if the doctor failed in finding a   
  
way to control him, Cross would not survive. With the stasis, Cross would live for eighty   
  
years before he succumbed. Dr. Robotnik had also devised an antidote for it, but all that   
  
data was destroyed in the attack." "So, what about that makes him better at killing   
  
people?" "Remember what I told you, Sonic? They needed me to figure out the normal   
  
parameters for Cross's genetic structure. But with the damaged code they needed new DNA to   
  
patch it, and mine matched too close to be useful. They had to be choosy with their new   
  
sample; they wanted Cross as unchanged as possible. And you and I are more similar then you   
  
think." "So they _deliberately_ lured me in!" Sonic jumped up and began pacing, obviously   
  
quite disturbed. "And if they used my DNA-" "Cross has gained all your powers, abilities,   
  
and attacks." "I think our odds for success just plummeted," Amy said. "A fight against a   
  
mix of that lizard thingy, Shadow, _and_ Sonic? Are you certain we should fight?" I stood.   
  
"We don't have a choice."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To save energy, we all took Tail's foldout jet back to the city. I was thinking the   
  
whole time. I am the true Ultimate Life Form! And I was not going to back down from a   
  
fight with anyone! Even if it IS Cross…I sighed. "Cheer up!" Sonic sat next to me, his   
  
cocky expression in full gear. "How can you be so cheerful at a time like this?" "Hey, I   
  
just do what comes naturally. And it's not like this will be anything really new. I mean,   
  
I've fought you, and the Biolizard, and a metal version of myself. This is just all of them   
  
at once." I kept from rolling my eyes. Sonic is great and all, but he can be a little   
  
thick-headed. "Besides, I brought backup," he whispered and showed me the Chaos Emerald   
  
he'd snuck from behind Knuckle's back. I just raised an eyebrow. All too soon, we were   
  
back in the city. Or what was left of it…  
  
  
  
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*Cue evil laughter* A cliffy, a cliffy! Oh the humanity!  
Uh, wait...wouldn't that be hedgehogity? Or...oh never mind!  
Just review this thing! C'mon, I know you wanna! 


	10. Battle Royale

Happy High Holidays Everybody!  
Believe it or not, Arav Rosh Hashana counts as the start of the new year!  
And in case you can't tell, i'm Jewish.  
Here's a special Holiday Edition for ya!  
I checked. I don't own Sonic or Sonic related things EXCEPT this fic, and Project Cross. I own freaky mutated Shadow-guy! Shadow POV, yada yada -   
  
Nuf said.  
  
  
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Many of the buildings were scorched, cracked, and otherwise damaged. The rest were   
  
now rubble scattered on the dirt. We didn't see any people - they were either in hiding or   
  
gone. "I can't believe it…" Amy seemed very pale. We could hear sounds of fighting up   
  
ahead. There, a small group from GUN, lead in person by Vox, were trying to attack Cross.   
  
I say 'trying', because no matter what they did they couldn't make a scratch on him. Cross   
  
used his tentacles to fling all of them into the nearest standing buildings before he turned   
  
to us. "I'm not surprised," he said evenly. "I could tell you would try to fight me   
  
eventually. But, I wonder. What makes you think you can succeed against the Supreme   
  
Being?" "We've saved this planet dozens of times," Sonic said. "You're just another   
  
wanna-be pyromaniac bent on global domination. You won't beat us!" "I beg to differ."   
  
With no further than that warning, Cross opened fire.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Every single one of Cross's pods began spewing fireballs, which we dodged. As we   
  
were distracted by this, Cross's tentacles lashed out. I was knocked flat by a grazing   
  
blow. Amy and Tails got hit full force, getting tossed hard. Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge   
  
barely managed to dodge. "Amy! Tails!" Sonic yelled. The walker Tails had been in was   
  
crushed, and he was nowhere to be seen. Amy was picking herself up, her mallet lost. "You   
  
should know better than to hit girls, you jerk!" Sonic tried to use his Homing Attack, but   
  
Cross kept deflecting it. Knuckles and Rouge tried to attack, but Cross was blocking them   
  
too. He could see everything from the high place on top of his own tendrils. Well, almost   
  
everything. One thing he failed to notice in time was Tails, diving in for an attack with   
  
Amy's mallet. "Got ya!" Cross roared, more in annoyance than any real pain, and would have   
  
smacked Tails into the next city if my Homing Attack hadn't smacked him in the face. "You   
  
let your guard down," I chided as I landed. "True; but I will not make that mistake again."   
  
Cross sneered and let loose a barrage of Chaos Spears. Sonic tried to hit him from behind,   
  
and he would have if the Chaos Spears hadn't been immediately followed by the biggest Sonic   
  
Wind any of us had ever seen. "Hey, that move's mine!" "And we're so glad you noticed,"   
  
Knuckles growled. I felt a bruise forming on my arm, but refrained from rubbing it.   
  
Knuckles, Rouge, Tails, and Sonic tried a full frontal assault. Cross was barely scratched   
  
as he sent them hurtling. Sonic landed near me, away from the others. He was out cold.   
  
Everyone else was either out or too hurt to move. It was a one-on-one fight now - The   
  
Supreme Being vs. The Ultimate Life Form.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cross eyed me with scorn as he withdrew his tendrils to lower himself to my eye   
  
level. "This is pointless, you know. It's been fifty years, and you haven't   
  
changed since we first fought. You have no chance of defeating me." "And yet, here I am."   
  
"True." He looked at me strangely. "It appears we have gone full circle. I no longer   
  
sense the Biolizard's power - I know you destroyed him. He was a mindless puppet, incapable   
  
of comprehending the destruction he could administer. You, however, are fully aware of all   
  
you are capable of, and yet you do nothing, progress nowhere. You don't even age. I have   
  
watched you since my 'rediscovery' by that fool human. You could be so much more than you   
  
are, it's really quite sad. I could help you, you know." "What are you babbling about?"   
  
His sudden interest was making my fur rise. "I could help you achieve the ultimate power.   
  
You could do anything you wanted with such power - end disease, stop war, even raise the   
  
dead. Quite the idea, isn't it?" "Raise the dead?" I said it softly. /Maria…I could   
  
bring her back?/ {To what?} A part of my mind that never let anything but truth pass it   
  
spoke. {She gave her life so you could live, so everyone could live. What is the cost, to   
  
resurrect her?} /I would give my life to see her face again./ {What about her? Are you so   
  
blinded that you would ignore her opinion of this sort of thing? If the cost was the   
  
painful, unhappy death of everyone on this planet, what would she say?} The obvious truth   
  
hit me. Maria wanted everyone happy. Killing them all would mean breaking my promise.   
  
Doing _anything_ that hurt them would. I saw Cross draw closer. "What would it cost me, to   
  
achieve such a power?" "Nothing but yourself. It wouldn't affect anyone or anything else."   
  
He smirked. As my thoughts wavered, I saw an echo of triumph flit over his features. I   
  
felt the word on my tongue, and then -  
  
  
  
  
  
It grabbed the doctor by the throat, knocking him flat, trying to throttle him!  
  
"No!"  
  
The freakish creature got knocked off as I hit it from behind, slamming into the wall.  
  
The doctor held his throat, where bruise marks from the creature had begun darkening.  
  
I barely got a chance to confirm that when it came for me.  
  
It's high-pitched scream echoed in my head as I was pinned down.  
  
Thousands of tiny teeth tore at me!  
  
I fought harder than I ever had before.  
  
I barely managed to hold down the stubby thing's arms when it spoke.  
  
"Must consume…must absorb…must destroy!"  
  
Those hissing words were all I knew as it flipped me off.  
  
I hadn't even landed before the thing wrapped it's tentacles around my body.  
  
"Must achieve perfection…must absorb to achieve perfection!"  
  
It slammed me into the floor - hard.  
  
"Subject refuses to cooperate. Force will be used as necessary…"  
  
I didn't even have time to cry out as it went to it's ruthless work…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I blinked as the memory came to me, as crystal clear if it had happened an hour ago.   
  
I smirked. "Sorry, the answer's still no." Cross seemed taken aback. "Still?" It said   
  
the word cautiously. "You haven't changed at all, Cross." The conviction in my voice grew   
  
stronger with every word. "I remember you. Still trying for the impossible. You cannot   
  
live with what you are. You only seek more power, no matter what must be done to attain it.   
  
Personally, I'm disgusted my DNA is a part of you." Cross laughed then, a high-pitched   
  
cackle. "Same old Shadow. Still too stubborn to see. Well, you will see soon enough.   
  
There's no one with a tranquilizer to save you from your fate this time. I _will_ finish   
  
what I started, even if you don't cooperate. Resistance is futile." "We'll see, parasite!"   
  
With those parting shots, we attacked.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I started with barrage of Chaos Spears. Cross intercepted every one with a fireball   
  
before launching a Sonic Wind. I jumped, and used a Homing Attack. I hit him, but he was   
  
focused enough to hit me with his own Homing Attack on my rebound. As I hit the ground I   
  
used my Spin Dash to move before a tendril drove itself through my head. I continued the   
  
Dash as tentacles rained from the sky, barely missing me as they drilled through solid   
  
stone. As I dodged, I made my way closer to Cross's main body, jumping at the last second   
  
and getting him with my Homing Attack again. This time, I wasn't quick enough to avoid the   
  
fireball that sent me sprawling. Jumping up, I ran to avoid the Chaos Spears he sent at me.   
  
My hover jets kicked in just in time for me to avoid getting wrapped in tentacles -   
  
something I knew was definitely an improvement over last time. I zipped back and forth,   
  
constantly avoiding his scaly embrace. "Out of tricks, leech?" I taunted him. Big mistake   
  
on my part. He leered and roared, "NIGHTMARE RING!" He shot a glowing green ring at me,   
  
and it connected. It was incredibly painful. "You forget, I am an IMPROVEMENT of the two   
  
of you. I have my own personal tricks!" He laughed as I picked myself up. "Here, I'll   
  
demonstrate another particularly lethal one on your blue friend!" No! I could see Sonic,   
  
still curled on his side unconscious. Cross aimed his pods at Sonic. "SCATTER BOMB!" His   
  
pods released hundreds of spears of blindingly bright white light, and the area where Sonic   
  
lay erupted with explosions.  
  
  
  
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OMG! I killed Sonic! The horah, the horah!  
Heh, Jewish joke. I couldn't resist.  
Stayed tuned for the next chapter: Sonic, Dead? Maybe. Maybe not. He might be dead. Or is he?  
PS I like reviews, don't you? 


	11. Fix it up

Only one new review for the last chapter. Do you people have something against me doing things to Sonic?  
Fine, but the horrors for Shadow shall only grow ten-fold! Muwahahahahaha!  
I don't own Sonic, I own Cross and the things he does.  
Shadow POV, you get the idea.  
Read on!  
  
  
  
  
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"So ends the blue hedgehog!" "Not quite!" We looked up to see Sonic launch his   
  
Sonic Wave directly at Cross from above, who was so surprised that he forgot to block it.   
  
He roared in pain as Sonic landed next to me, falling over instantly. I helped him up, and   
  
he grinned. "I was awake the whole time!" He gave me his trademark smirk, at which I   
  
couldn't help but chuckle. "How did you escape my attack?!" Cross snarled. "That's for me   
  
to know and for you get a headache over! Neener neener neener!" Sonic stuck out his tongue   
  
at the currently enraged Cross. We ducked behind a piece of rubble as Cross started   
  
releasing an endless volley of fireballs. "You know, I think I ticked him off." I rolled   
  
my eyes at my irrepressible companion. "I think you're a bad influence." He gave me   
  
another grin before he winced and held his side. "We should rejoin the others," I said as I   
  
held my Emerald. He barely had time to nod in agreement before I Chaos Controlled us to   
  
where the others had hidden themselves during my fight. Seconds later, Cross's Nightmare   
  
Ring blew up the spot we had just left.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We found ourselves underground. Apparently, this had been a basement before the   
  
upper building caved in on itself. As soon as we appeared, a cry echoed through the room.   
  
"SONIC!" Amy tackled him. "Oh Sonic I thought you were a goner oh you're hurt let me kiss   
  
it and make it better-" "Amy get off me, I can't breathe with you sitting on me!" The   
  
others were there too. One of Rouge's wings was bound up, and the everyone besides Amy   
  
sported scrapes and bruises. Tails scurried over and began wrapping the cut on Sonic's   
  
side. I stood there, feeling a bit out of place until Knuckles walked up. "I saw you fight   
  
Cross one-on-one. Nice moves." This clearly was an awkward conversation for the reclusive   
  
guardian of the Master Emerald, so I merely nodded. He smirked, and we turned to see Sonic   
  
bolting away from Amy, yelling, "Get away from me, you psycho!" "Get back here Sonic, I   
  
have to kiss it and make it better!" We sweat dropped as we watched. "That's normal,   
  
right?" I whispered. "Normal for Amy, at least." We sweat dropped some more as Amy   
  
grabbed her mallet, yelling, "Don't call me psycho! Now come and get your kiss!" Tails   
  
walked over, completely nonplussed over his best friend's plight. He insisted on checking   
  
me over, a process made difficult when Sonic decided I was a good person to hide behind from   
  
his number one fan. "I can't believe my biggest fan is a deranged lunatic - AH!" "I AM NOT   
  
DERANGED, NOW COME GET YOUR KISS!" We sighed.  
  
  
  
  
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Sorry about making Amy an idiot. I'm getting her personality off other fics, so blame them not me.  
Still, you gotta admit, that _was_ funny.  
Whatever, please leave nice reviews for me thank you! 


	12. Loosening Ties

I'M SO HAPPY!  
What would make me so happy, you ask?  
Well, I got three great reviews for a fic I posted five minutes ago, but the _real_ reason i'm so happy is all the nice things people have be telling me about this fic!  
Thank you, thank you!  
I don't own Sonic.  
I DO own Cross. He's my property! (if you wanna use him, you'd better be prepared to beg on bended knees!)  
Yeah, yeah, fic-time!  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
In the end, it took all of us to get Amy and Sonic to pay attention. We could hear   
  
faint roars from Cross, and many explosions. "I think the fight should continue a bit   
  
farther away from people. How can we lure him away?" "He'll definitely chase me," I   
  
pointed out. "Maybe, but how far would you get? He's as fast as _you_ are." "You're not   
  
suggesting what I think, are you?" Knuckles looked at Sonic with disbelief. Sonic was   
  
dead-set on going. "I am the fastest thing on this planet," he said with complete   
  
seriousness. "I think I can outrun tall, green, and ugly out there." "You think?" He   
  
shrugged. "NOOO!" Amy latched herself onto Sonic's side, completely ruining the moment.   
  
"You're going to get yourself killed and how am I supposed to marry you then?!" "Get off   
  
me, and who said I'm marrying you?" We pried Amy off with difficulty. Tails had a map   
  
rescued from the remains of his walker. "Here, the desert. It's empty, and not too far."   
  
"Got it! See you there!" Sonic walked out to begin. Tails turned to me. "Shadow, how   
  
many people can you transport with Chaos Control?" "Besides myself, two others maximum."   
  
"I think we can prepare a welcoming party to occupy Cross with. Do you know where Eggman's   
  
base is?" "You have gotta be kidding, Tails." Rouge shook her head. "Eggman's gonna send   
  
everything he's got after you if he sees any of you." "That's what I'm counting on. Me and   
  
Shadow will go, and we can get Sonic when he gets there. Cross will be distracted by   
  
Eggman, and then he won't be able to find any of us." We made our way to the exit. We   
  
could just see Sonic, zipping around Cross's tentacles and taunting him before running like   
  
crazy towards the desert with Cross in hot pursuit. "Ready Shadow?" "Hold on." As Tails   
  
held on carefully, I gripped my Emerald and said, "Chaos Control!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I knew the exact location of Eggman's base from my working with him, and I put us a   
  
short distance away so we wouldn't be spotted early. When arrived, I felt slightly drained   
  
- hey, Chaos Control is hard with two people. "Okay, judging from Sonic's speed, he and   
  
Cross will be here in thirty minutes. That means we have ten minutes before we have to try   
  
getting Eggman's attention." We sat down. Tails opened his mouth, and closed it again,   
  
seeming to think better of it. "What?" "It's nothing…" "If you're sure," I said. A   
  
minute later… "Shadow? I have to ask…You said you were scared of Cross, and you didn't   
  
think you could beat him. But when you fought one-on-one, you looked like you were doing   
  
okay." I thought about it. What could have changed? Oh wait, _that_. "You've got a good   
  
point. The thing was, that wasn't the Cross I fought fifty years ago." "Huh?" "There was   
  
this weird thing about him. He has three forms, and this one's almost done." "So, the   
  
little brown guy you fought…was a larva?" "I guess. When Dr. Robotnik and I checked on   
  
Cross a year after we put him in stasis, we found he had made himself a cocoon." "Whoa.   
  
Will he make another one for his last phase? If he's bottled up, we can ship him into space   
  
or something." "I'm not really certain. The doctor put his findings in a separate   
  
mainframe…" The obvious hit me. "Okay, I know where we're going to go once we get Sonic."   
  
"Speaking of which, we should go bother Eggman now." We wandered over to the Desert Ruins.   
  
"When I say so, hit those spots with Chaos Spears." Tails glided over and fiddled with   
  
something I couldn't see. "Shadow, now!" I launched the Spears. Tails flew back over and   
  
hurried off. "C'mon! He's going to be really mad!" An incredibly loud alarm went off as   
  
we ran. "What did you do?" "Well, I entered a little virus into his security net. He tried   
  
to activate the security cameras after you attacked, but he just activated the virus." We   
  
heard Eggman roaring in the distance. I winced. "His computers only display insults?"   
  
"Yep." Tails looked very proud of himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Eggman and his robot forces arrived where we had stopped in minutes. Eggman's face   
  
was bright red. "DO YOU THINK JOKES LIKE THAT ARE FUNNY?!?!?!? I'LL SHOW YOU FUNNY, YOU   
  
LITTLE-what the heck?" He was clearly taken aback by my presence. "Shadow? But didn't   
  
you-" "Die? I should think not," I said scornfully. "Oh well. If you were in on this,   
  
then I'm going to be forced to kill you too." He was just ordering his troops to attack   
  
when a blue blur blew past us, tripped over Eggman's egg walker, and slammed into a dune. I   
  
dragged Tails over. I knew who would be arriving next. Cross roared as he made his   
  
entrance. "WHAT IS THAT? OH WHO CARES, JUST KILL IT!" Eggman's robots attacked Cross full   
  
force as we pulled Sonic out of the sand. "Told ya," he said. He wasn't even breathing   
  
hard. I grabbed Sonic, and Tails grabbed onto both of us. 'Please work,' I thought as I   
  
concentrated. "Chaos Control!" I did it, but it hurt. A lot.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As soon as the Chaos Control finished, I collapsed. "Shadow!" Wearily, I pushed   
  
myself into a sitting position. "Note to self: never transport three at once," I muttered   
  
as Sonic helped me up the rest of the way. "Where are we?" I looked around. A tiny, very   
  
rocky island. The only other feature was an iron door set into the rock. We had made it.   
  
"Where we need to be," I said, carefully walking to the door. "Shadow, is this the separate   
  
mainframe you mentioned earlier?" "Yes." "Can someone fill me in?" Tails told Sonic what I   
  
had told him while I inspected the access pad. Entering the code caused the door to slide   
  
smoothly open, revealing the staircase behind it. We went down the stairs and entered a   
  
small room with a large computer. It was on, and as we got close, it spoke. "Attention.   
  
Unauthorized entry. Warning. Defense Systems engaging in 3, 2-" "Computer, cancel alarm,   
  
authorization Maria-three-eighty!" "Confirmed. Welcome Shadow." "In return for keeping   
  
Cross a secret, the doctor gave me full access to every file he made from then on," I told   
  
my bewildered friends smugly. "Oh! Okay. Can you access the files we need?" "Sure." I   
  
sat in the chair in front of the large screen. A few blurred keystrokes later - "Project   
  
Cross," the computer said. "Accessing most recent update on biological structure." A   
  
pause. "Project Cross is the combined DNA of Biolizard and Shadow. Biological reports show   
  
that Project Cross possesses a three-phase life cycle. Phase One: Once hatched, Cross seeks   
  
to blindly destroy all things near it. After a short period, Cross forms a cocoon to   
  
mature. Indeterminate time for this process. Phase Two: Once freed from cocoon, Cross is   
  
fully self-aware. Will seek to destroy, and will seek power. Requirement for final phase:   
  
Absorption of large power source. Required similarity in genetic structure renders only two   
  
subjects useful for this. Once absorption is complete, maximum amount of two days until   
  
emergence of final form. Phase Three: Cross may or may not absorb second subject, not   
  
required. Cross achieves highest power from gaining this form." I was speechless. This   
  
was _not_ something I wanted to hear. I noticed Tails tugging my arm. "Can I use it?"   
  
"Uh, sure. Just write yourself an account," I said, moving from the chair. "Are you okay,   
  
Shadow? You look really pale." "I'm fine."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
After a brief rest, we Chaos Controlled back to the city. Luckily, Sonic's house   
  
was fine. "What do we do now?" "Well, I'm going to see where Cross is. You guys should   
  
rest up, we're gonna have to fight him you know." We lay around, but truth be told I only   
  
dozed. I had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen at our next fight. Opening   
  
my eyes, I saw Sonic snoring away. Sometimes I have to envy that guy; this planet is going   
  
to be destroyed and he still doesn't have a care in the world. I could never be as relaxed   
  
as he is, my life's been too different. As I thought about that, the house shook. "What   
  
the-uh-oh, looks like Cross is done with Egg-head. You ready, Shadow?" Tails flew in.   
  
"You should try to get him away from the city again. He's gonna cause major damage if you   
  
don't." "Got it covered. Coming Shadow?" I just rolled my eyes and followed him outside.   
  
There, Cross waited for us. "I see you have guts at least," he said as he saw us. Then he   
  
struck, his tendrils going fast and furious. We fought back as best we could, but in the   
  
end my fatigue was my undoing. I stumbled, and he took full advantage. I was wrapped in   
  
tentacles before I could blink. "FINALLY!" He roared and pulled me in. I tried to use the   
  
Chaos Emerald to teleport away, but it was knocked from my hands. I heard Sonic scream and   
  
then- I was gone.  
  
  
  
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Aren't I just evil? Only I know what happened, but before you freak out and flame me, please note - I did NOT say he was dead. I will give out one hint on the next chapter.  
Actually, I hid the hint in this chapter. So look really hard to find out (if you aren't one of those dangerously intelligent people that figured it out five chapters ago)  
No matter what, please R&R! 


	13. Two is One and One is Two

*Maniac, and very evil laughter* I am SOOOO evil! I do such bad things to my characters!  
Shadow: Yeah, what did I ever do to you?  
Nothing, but this idea happens to be very popular. Check it out - 50 reviews!  
Shadow: But you...what did you do to me, anyway?  
You'll see...  
  
I don't own Sonic, or Sega, or anything worth mentioning. Seriously, my life stinks.  
Well, I own Cross, but I think you've figured that part out.  
POV is slightly...ahem, _altered_, but it's still Shadow.  
Read on to find out!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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All I knew was the darkness.  
  
  
  
It filled me to my soul, and I was afraid.  
  
  
  
Then I was 'I' no longer, but 'we'.  
  
  
  
We felt the changes begin, and wrapped in the safety of our cocoon we felt no fear.  
  
  
  
It was not long until we emerged into the light.  
  
  
  
Many small things surrounded us, but we didn't care.  
  
  
  
We were too busy examining our new body.  
  
  
  
It was dark green, covered in beautiful scales.  
  
  
  
Two fast legs, two powerful arms, a long tail tipped with a thin sickle blade.  
  
  
  
Thousands of tendrils flowed from our back, marvelously supple and surprisingly strong.  
  
  
  
Quills decorated the back of our head, dark green with stripes the color of blood.  
  
  
  
Like mine.  
  
  
  
Mine?  
  
  
  
Confusion.  
  
  
  
We saw our reflection in a pane of glass that lay near us.  
  
  
  
Our eyes glowed orange, framing our powerful snapping jaw in their light.  
  
  
  
We were invincible.  
  
  
  
"You! Don't move or we will open fire!"  
  
  
  
There were others here, in their shiny toys they called tanks.  
  
  
  
We raised ourself on our tendrils to get a better view.  
  
  
  
The leader of these others, these humans, came forward.  
  
  
  
We recognized him. General Vox, of GUN.  
  
  
  
Maria! He killed her!  
  
  
  
What was that?  
  
  
  
"Attention, Project Cross! You will obey me now or I will be forced to open fire!"  
  
  
  
We sneered at him before we opened our mouth to reply.  
  
  
  
"We are Project Crozz no longer, General Voz."  
  
  
  
"We are Crozz, the Zupreme Life Form!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Open fire!" The humans shot us with their little bullets, their missiles. Nothing   
  
they did affected us. We merely waited while they wasted their time. Then we retaliated.   
  
Using a few of our many tendrils, we batted the humans away like leaves. Once they were   
  
silent, we lowered ourself to examine a small glitter. It was a crystal, cut and polished.   
  
We used our tendril to pick it up. It was a Chaos Emerald. It was familiar in our claws.   
  
We watched the swirling colors until a movement caught our eye. It was a blue hedgehog. We   
  
knew him. "Okay Cross, hand over that Emerald!" We watched him for a moment. "No, Zonic,   
  
we think not." Using his name made him jump. "Uh, 'we'?" "Correct. We are Crozz. We   
  
think we will keep thiz Chaoz Emerald. Goodbye." "No you don't!" He yelled, but it was   
  
far too late. "Chaoz Control!" We warped away, leaving the hedgehog far behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We chose to go to a small tropical island. It was a pleasant place to determine our   
  
next move. We tossed the Emerald as we thought. Many things occurred to us, but only one   
  
held our interest - to see this world, in all it's splendor. And to destroy whomever tried   
  
to stand in our way. Where to go first? We decided the desert, and teleported away from   
  
our island sanctuary.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As we arrived at the desert, we saw a building in ruins not far away. Letting our   
  
tendrils carry us over the burning sands, we saw this had been a temple. But now, a large   
  
man lead an army of machines against us. We knew him. Dr. Eggman, the grandson of Dr.   
  
Gerald Robotnik. That last name filled us with both loathing and pride. Pride, for his   
  
genius made us possible. Loathing, for what he did to us when he discovered our potential.   
  
This Eggman, he told his metal fighters to destroy us. We sneered, for we would be doing   
  
the destroying. And we did. As we laid waste to his creations, he tried to flee. We   
  
ensnared him easily and held him aloft as we finished. Then we held him close to our face.   
  
"How dare you do this to me! Who do you think you are dealing with?!" "Why, Doctor Eggman,   
  
grandzon of our creator, of courze. We know you very well." "We? Who are you?" "You   
  
zpeak to Crozz, the Zupreme Life Form, you zilly perzon. You are a dizgrace to our creator.   
  
We would kill you now, but we are not interezted in you." With that, we dropped him and   
  
made our way to his base. It was deep within the ruins, but we found it. And we destroyed   
  
it. We left soon afterwards.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We went many places. In many of them, the humans of GUN tried to stop us. We   
  
eliminated them all, every time. It was many days later when we paused to sleep. We had   
  
the strangest dream…  
  
  
  
  
  
We were surrounded by people.  
  
  
We destroyed them, but as we did something cried out in anguish.  
  
  
"Shadow! Give everyone a chance to be happy…"  
  
  
I'm so sorry Maria, I failed you, I failed everyone!  
  
  
What was making that sound?  
  
  
It was strangely familiar, like we had known it well once but had forgotten it.  
  
  
It tore at us, and we reeled in confusion.  
  
  
You killed her! She would never die but you forgot and it killed her!  
  
  
Stop it, we do not understand!  
  
  
We beat the sound-maker into silence, but the pain remained as we continued to destroy…  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We awoke, and found our claws clenched tightly around the Chaos Emerald. It glowed   
  
softly as we watched it. We dropped it and the glow faded. Picking it up, we found the   
  
glow did not return. We tried to decide what that meant. We couldn't come up with   
  
anything, but an new idea occurred to us - why not find more Emeralds? They might hold the   
  
key. We reached out with our senses, but we felt no more Emeralds. Chaos Emeralds are   
  
indestructible, which meant something was blocking them. And the only thing that could   
  
was…we grinned. We knew where all of them were now. "Chaoz Control!"  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
How'd I do? Huh? Huh? Tell me!  
I'll put in another Auther's Note if people have a lot of questions, but if you don't ask then I won't.  
In short, R&R! 


	14. An Angel Died Aborning

Ho hum. Not much happening here, cept that this is the LAST CHAPTER!  
It might be, or I might find a way to extend it a few more.  
If people give me suggestions, I will be able to extend this thing a bit longer.  
But if no one says anything...well, i'm gonna cut it off.  
I ownth not Sonic.  
I ownth Cross. I half ownth Crozz (like the 's' is a hiss) since he is half Cross and half Shadow, whom I don't ownth.  
I think I may have a lisp. Or not, whatever. I'm just rambling now.  
Read on, and keep in mind I'll take anything, even flames.  
I will be personally mocking those flames, but hey, at least i'll read em!  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We reappeared on the floating land known as Angel Island. We had decided to take   
  
the Master Emerald as well as the Chaos Emeralds, but blocking our path were three people.   
  
We knew them all, and balanced ourself in front of them. "Hello Knucklez, Tailz, and   
  
Zonic." "What do you want, Cross." "Want? Well, we only came for the Emeraldz, but now we   
  
think a nize fight might be good to pazz the time." Sonic spoke. "Listen to yourself.   
  
'We'? There's only one of you." "We are one." "And who is we?" "We are Crozz, the   
  
Zupreme Life Form." Tails spoke next. "Cross is only one part of you. Who is the other   
  
part?" The other part? We were Cross, there was no other part. We closed our eyes to try   
  
and figure out what the fox meant. A second part… "Do you mean the zcreamer?" "The what?"   
  
"The zcreamer. It zcreams in the back of our mind. We do not underztand thiz." Knuckles   
  
and Sonic paled, but Tails nodded knowingly. "That is your other part. Do you know who he   
  
is?" We thought hard. As we thought, the Emerald in our claw glowed softly, throwing light   
  
in the shadows. The shadows…the thought triggered an explosion in our head, and we cried   
  
out as we collapsed. We heard a tiny voice whisper through our mouth, "Help…me…" before we   
  
saw nothing.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"He's in there, but Cross is suppressing him!"  
  
  
  
Where did these voices come from?  
  
  
  
"Get him inside, before he wakes up!"  
  
  
  
What is going on?  
  
  
  
Help me, I can't hold him!  
  
  
  
What is this that keeps us in this place?  
  
  
  
We rallied ourself and took back our body.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We raised our head and saw we were in an open place. They were doing something, but   
  
we couldn't see what it was. We saw six Chaos Emeralds in a ring around us and the Master   
  
Emerald on a pedestal in front of us. In our claws we felt our Chaos Emerald. "What iz   
  
thiz?" We cry and we see Sonic in between ourself and the Master Emerald. "This is for   
  
your own good. Do it!" He says, and all seven Emeralds glow brightly. So does the Master   
  
Emerald, and we hear the voice of the Guardian, chanting something in a tongue we cannot   
  
understand. Suddenly, it is dark and we are alone…except for Sonic. He looks at us, and   
  
then it begins:  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We ready our claws, the Emerald gone, to kill this person before us.  
  
  
  
No!  
  
  
  
What was that?  
  
  
  
Let me go! Let me go!  
  
  
  
It was a strange sound, it was so familiar but we could not place it.  
  
  
  
What…no, who is that?  
  
  
  
You should know.  
  
  
  
We don't.  
  
  
  
I am a part of you. I _am_ you.  
  
  
  
You are…me?  
  
  
  
Me? What is me?  
  
  
  
Who is me?  
  
  
  
Me…I am…darkness.  
  
  
  
Pain, sorrow, love, anger-  
  
  
  
Love?  
  
  
  
You loved her once. You loved her, and you killed her when you left her!  
  
  
  
Her?  
  
  
  
She?  
  
  
  
Me?  
  
  
  
We do not…I do not…  
  
  
  
Yes, I.  
  
  
  
Me.  
  
  
  
Myself.  
  
  
  
Shadow.  
  
  
  
Me! I am Shadow!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I screamed as my body ripped in two. One part was disgusting green leech. It made   
  
a shriek as it flopped on the floor. One part was me. Free of that thing that called   
  
itself Cross at last. It flopped about and disappeared into smoke as I lay, drained and   
  
curled, in the darkness of my own mind. Then, I felt something in my paw. It was a Chaos   
  
Emerald. Maria's Emerald. Her spirit gave it to me so I could live, and now I would.   
  
Maria…  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
So, how was that?  
Seriously speaking, I need advice on how to finish this.  
C'mon, everybody has their own idea on how somebody else's story should finish!  
I will take anything, and who knows?  
Some stupid thing you send in for a laugh might be the theme of the next chapter(s).  
As always, R&R! You know you wanna! 


	15. Second Chances?

I'M BBBBBAAAAACCCKKKKK....  
  
Check it out, I've finally got the next part of this thing ready to go!  
With all the things in my life (school, homework, other fics, you get the idea) I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to keep this going.  
It took a month or three of brainstorming with the ideas people sent but I got it!  
  
Heh heh heh...be afraid...be very afraid...  
  
Chiwizard is owning nothing!  
  
Still Shadow POV, blah blah blah - CHARGE!  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
...Ugh, my throbbing skull...what?  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Where am I?  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Light noises echo in the background.  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
What's that smell?  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Yuck, disinfectant is the worst - hold up!  
  
  
  
Beep.  
  
  
  
Okay, i'm _definitely_ not on Angel Island anymore...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
...It feels like the ARK landed right on top of me...and after what's happened I   
  
  
wouldn't be surprised if it had. What did happen, anyway - it's so hard to remember. But   
  
  
before I can try and figure things out, a voice starts ringing through my head. "I think   
  
  
he's waking up!" Ow, stop yelling, i'm right next to you...And in the interest of telling   
  
  
whoever was screaming in my ear to take a long walk off a short pier I opened my eyes. Them   
  
  
and whatever's making that beeping noise with them. Okay, something's wrong with my eyes,   
  
  
they won't open - hey, who's the wise guy that taped them shut?!?! "Wow, calm down Shadow!   
  
  
Or else they'll kick us out and drug you to next Tuesday!" There's no way I could _ever_   
  
  
not recognize that voice. "Then stop yelling in my ear," I said - or rather, _tried_ to   
  
  
say. Whoever was dumb enough to tape my eyes shut also stuck a tube down my throat - I know   
  
  
it's probably normal precedure and probably saved my life or something but right now I am   
  
  
way too sore to care. When I tried to talk, it came out more like 'En spot ellin n meh er'.   
  
  
"Huh?" "I think he said to stop yelling in his ear, Sonic." "Yeah, it looks bad enough   
  
  
without him having to suffer from your big mouth," came a new voice. Slowly I matched the   
  
  
other voices up. Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge. I'd have to rip the stupid tape off my face   
  
  
to make sure, but my arms were tied down - I think for IV's and suchlike. "Visiting hours   
  
  
are over," came a new voice. Female, probably human I thought. "Aww, but he finally woke   
  
  
up!" Hearing Sonic whining was actually amusing at first, but as they were persumably   
  
  
shooed away I could feel myself drifting again...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
Can anybody guess where i'm going with this? Anyone at all?  
Ah, c'mon, guess! Please??????????????????????  
Posting will be slower than it used to be, sorry!  
Anyhoo, send in ideas, comments, whatever!  
It's _never_ too late to use somebody else's idea (with their permission of course) to force your own story ahead!  
Flames will be accepted, read, and used in a e-mail fire war against those who dare to send one! But sure, go ahead and send them in!  
Whatever you do, R&R! 


	16. Turn for the Worst

Yeah, hey it's me again.  
  
I know, that last chapter didna make no sense. It's a BRIDGE! It's supposed ta link two seperate parts of a story together!! Can I help it if I can't pull one off?  
  
You people should be glad I'm posting at all - all of this is mostly from scratch (And I'm on an angsty Yu-Gi-Oh trip right now anyway)  
  
Moving along...  
  
  
I am not owning anything but Cross, this plotline, and other stuff I make up. Got it?  
  
  
Shadow POV, and before anybody asks...nah, you can just read and find out! (^_^)  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
I have come to a decision that I utterly _detest_ hospitals. Now that i'm finally   
  
  
awake, all I can do is lie around and stare at where the ceiling would be if I could open my   
  
  
eyes. Luckily for me, I heal fast enough to get out today. I'm still not sure what   
  
  
happened though. I vaguely recall this horrendous sensation after Cross grabbed me but I'm   
  
  
not sure about inbetween now and when I woke up. Okay, I'll admit it - I am fed up. An   
  
  
Ultimate Life Form has limits you know, and whatever happened has severely pushed me past   
  
  
them. At least they're taking out the equipment now. "We were all getting really worried   
  
  
after you didn't wake up," Tails was saying. "Everybody thought you were...you know..."   
  
  
"None of you have much faith in my durability, do you?" I remarked. Whatever answer he had   
  
  
was interrupted by some doctor talking. "Alright, everything seems to check out Mister   
  
  
Shadow. You may leave when you're ready." It was about time, I thought, but Tails stopped   
  
  
me getting up right away. "Shadow, there's something you need to know. About what happened   
  
  
when we seperated you from Cross." "What is it?" "Well, at first even though you were out   
  
  
cold we thought you were okay, but then..." He's trailing off, that is _not_ a good sign.   
  
  
Before he says anything else, I run the worlds fastest self-inventory. No extra arms, legs,   
  
  
or heads, good so far...I still feel kinda weird though. "What? What's different now?" I   
  
  
demanded. In response, he pulled off the tape that was keeping my eyes shut. Opening my   
  
  
eyes causes pain from very bright lighting. It's only through squinting that I see the   
  
  
truth. "You and he were bounded to the celluar level, so it was impossible to _completely_   
  
  
severe the connection..." I barely registered him speaking as I took in my...slightly   
  
  
altered apperance.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Interestingly enough, the first thought to really register was what an interesting   
  
  
shade of green I was. Yeah, you guessed it - I was still part lizard. It only seemed to be   
  
  
in random patches, greenish blotches of scales strangely contrasting black fur. Nearby was   
  
  
a hand mirror, which I used. Okay, some of my normally red quills were green too, but I   
  
  
think it was my eyes that took the cake. Still blood red, they were shaped differently,   
  
  
more reptilian in form and function. Very sensitive to light. Even though I tried thinking   
  
  
about positive things, like hurray I didn't have a tail or tentacles, I think it was the   
  
  
eyes that pushed me past the breaking point. Okay, maybe I panicked a little. Or a lot. I   
  
  
took off, noting with some curiosity I was ever-so-slightly faster now. I didn't really   
  
  
have a plan, I just needed to _go_. And so out I went, out the door and diving into the   
  
  
crowds to lose myself in them. I wandered for a few hours, before finding myself in a   
  
  
serious sense of Deja Vu. I was in the park, and right in front of me was a little crater.   
  
  
  
It was half-flooded with rainwater, but I knew it for what it was. For some reason, I leapt   
  
  
inside and looked at my reflection in the water. It was something I was going to have to   
  
  
get used to, that's for sure. I remebered Tails then, and cursed as I climbed back out of   
  
  
the hole. He and the others were without a doubt going frantic looking for me. I was just   
  
  
preparing myself for a long walk and many questions when without any warning whatsoever, a   
  
  
flash of blinding pain decided to explode in the area right behind my eyes. And with it   
  
  
came something I never knew existed...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kill.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hunger.  
  
  
  
  
  
Kill.  
  
  
  
  
  
What?  
  
  
  
  
  
HungerKillHunger!  
  
  
  
  
  
What is this?!  
  
  
  
  
  
HungerKillHungerKill!  
  
  
  
  
  
Make it stop!  
  
  
  
  
  
HungerKillKILL!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I gasped as it receded as quickly as it had arisen. What in the name of Chaos was   
  
  
happening to me?! It felt like I was fighting something in my own head! Not a good sign,   
  
  
not a good sign at all...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
Anyone up for a guess _now_?  
  
*smirks happily*  
  
Never saw anything like this coming didja?  
If you can figure out what i'm doing, please be a nice reviewer and spoil it for the rest of ya!  
Just kidding.  
Seriously though, review this thing!  
MUST HAVE OPINIONS!!!! GIVE THEM TO ME NOOOOOOWWWWWW!  
(Please excuse the authoress as she has been dragged off to take her medication) 


	17. Midnight Calm

Hah hah! Now that my Writer's Block has been defeated (Hallelulah!), I can get back to spewing creativity!  
  
Here are the people that sent in their ideas/opinions:  
  
Final Saber, Sparky the Seventh Chaos, Starlet Angel, Alman (you were honest and that's what counts) Final Saber(again), Neko-chan who isn't logged in (another truly honest person), Ryoko-starwind, & Ranma Higurashi.  
  
You'll never guess what sort of plot the fusion of every single one of your ideas has spawned. (OMG! IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALLLIIIIIVVVEEEEEE!)  
  
  
Eh heh heh, ignore that.  
  
  
  
Anyway, here we go. I don't own Sonic related things, except for Cross and stuff I make up. Yeah, I invented Crozz so i'm keeping him! (But you can borrow from me if you want)  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Ahem* First and foremost, I am _not_ mentioning anything about that freak   
  
  
whatever-that-was I experienced in the park. I am an Ulitmate Life Form, and the _last   
  
  
thing I want or need is pity and people worrying about me. Got it? Besides, it _could_   
  
  
have been a mutant stress headche...and I'm going to ignore it as such until proven   
  
  
otherwise. Which was why I was currently focusing all my energy on a second, and yet much   
  
  
more important task - finding the others. I'm not _lost_, it's just I went back to   
  
  
apologize to Tails and he was gone. So I'm looking for him, and yet it seems he's vanished   
  
  
off the face of the earth along with Sonic. I alternated going full speed and walking   
  
  
slowly, but there was no sign of them anywhere in the City. As if I didn't feel bad enough   
  
  
about it already. After dusk settled in, I gave up looking for them and decided to wait for   
  
  
them. I went to their apartment. The door was locked, something I managed to alter with a   
  
  
paper clip, and I walked right in. Still looked the same. It seemed kind of tacky,   
  
  
breaking into someone else's home, but I wasn't here to steal from them; I merely needed to   
  
  
talk to them and that was that. I was really tired for various reasons, and that's what   
  
  
found me sprawled out on the bed in their guest bedroom. It was a stuffy night so I opened   
  
  
the window before letting the breeze lull me to sleep...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Strange lights surrounded me.  
  
  
  
  
Where was I?  
  
  
  
  
Cold here, not warm.  
  
  
  
  
Where was the warm?  
  
  
  
  
The light...it was too bright.  
  
  
  
  
A huge vibration echoed around me.  
  
  
  
  
I saw it without really seeing - a shape.  
  
  
  
  
It was warm, alive, moving.  
  
  
  
  
Did it take me from the warm and dark?  
  
  
  
  
It _did_...I felt something inside me, this sudden hot feeling.  
  
  
  
  
The word Anger came to me.  
  
  
  
  
I was angry.  
  
  
  
  
The moving-alive-shape was going to pay...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I blinked away the last vestiges of sleep as I woke. Wow, what a weird dream.   
  
  
Where was...I remembered. I heard a footstep, but ignored it at first. Instead I yawned   
  
  
and stretched before turning. There, in the doorway, was Tails. I couldn't really look at   
  
  
him, after how I acted... "Are you okay now?" He asked me, his voice quiet. I nodded, then   
  
  
managed to voice my thoughts. "I'm sorry, I had no right to do that, I -" "Never mind   
  
  
about that," he interuppted me, "It's perfectly understandable." That out of the way, the   
  
  
tension that had been filling the room evaporated. "Where were you anyway? Sonic and I   
  
  
went to find you but we couldn't find a trace of you anywhere!" I blinked. "_I_ was   
  
  
looking for _you_!" "Must have missed each other," Tails said with a laugh. "Anyway, do   
  
  
you want some breakfast Shadow?" "Sure," I said as I hopped out of bed. I followed him,   
  
  
but as I did I couldn't help but feel like I was overlooking something...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
All Hail the defeat of my Writer's Block!  
  
THERE IS A PLOT NOW!  
  
I may even be able to squeeze thirty chapters out of this thing at this rate! (Knocks on wood)  
  
  
Does anybody have an idea of where I'm going? Remember, I used part of EVERYBODY'S ideas. Including the ones that said they didn't have ideas. If you have ideas now, please feel free to send them in!  
  
Or at least just R&R! 


	18. Heading into Overtime

...Eh heh heh.  
  
Wow.  
  
Um...  
  
Boy, is _my_ face red.  
  
Heh, looks like you can't expect an update from anybody anymore, can you? There's a really funny story behind that, I actually forgot what I was planning on writing for a little while...but 100 reviews! How can I say 'No' to that?  
  
Um, I don't own Sonic, just Cross, 50% of Crozz, Vox (does anyone even remember him?), Chair No. 2, Packing Crate No. 65, the soul of Bob the Mailman, etc...  
  
Shadow POV (as usual)  
  
ReadySetGo!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I can't say things have been going that great.  
  
Sure, Sonic and his friends _finally_ managed to get GUN off my case. It turns out the whole organization's recent drive to catch me was just ex-General Vox, who hopefully will manage to leave well enough alone now that he's lost government funding. And after bunking with them for a while, everybody else chipped in and now I have my own place.  
  
Okay, so maybe I've been under-exaggerating a little on how it is nowadays. I just happen to be naturally suspicious whenever things look like they couldn't be better. It's times like that when things screw up the most.  
  
...Although, it's not been _exactly_ 'happy-days-are-here-again-hey!'. It turns out my system was just waiting for me to get more adjusted before it did some final touch-up work on the additions I got from Cross.  
  
How does that Rouge girl handle having fangs, anyway? Well, she is a bat, so I guess they've been there most of her life already. Lucky me, I got to experience 'teething'. For a solid week.  
  
Forget dealing with those nano-probes AND frying alive in the upper atmosphere. I have found a new definition of pain and suffering. Why, why, _why_ did Cross have to have fangs?!  
  
...Okay, so maybe all this peace and quiet is grinding on my nerves more than I think. There haven't been any attempts to capture, kill, experiment, clone, solict, or take revenge on me for the last two months. Before now, I had a goal, at least. Now I'm so wound up that I'd use Chaos Spear on a pin that I hear falling off a table two blocks away.  
  
...I'm sure the family down the street isn't going to miss their table - er, and their back porch/yard - _too_ much...  
  
If this so-called 'vacation' lasts too much longer, I'm going to either blow something important up or go completely crazy. I can already feel the first stirrings of paranoia.  
  
For example: earlier this week, when I was walking down a sidewalk. The people I live near stopped pointing and whispering after the first month or so, but everyone else still seems to find me utterly fascinating. I sometimes get trailed by cars filled with gaping tourists for miles, when I get the urge to walk slowly and let them take all the photographs their camera's can hold.  
  
So, the fact that another car was also following me, right next to the tourist bus, shouldn't have been so odd. Lots of people get tinted windows for their cars. Lots of cars are black.  
  
And how many cars have little holes drilled into them and there are little glass circles exactly like camera lenses inside the holes? Before, I wouldn't have noticed the holes, but my eyes are different now - I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're actually _better_ - and I could see the sunlight reflecting off the whatever-was-in-there.  
  
Of course, they may just be some people doing a 'secret' documentary on us 'Saviors of the Planet' and suchlike. I spotted another car just like that trailing Amy as well. Reality TV is everywhere these days. And I'm not personally bothered by having my life on videotape, not that much anyway.  
  
I just change the channel.  
  
Great, now I'm bored enough to watch Government Public Access. Let's see what the Justice Department is doing today, kiddies!  
  
"And that is why we must pass this bill to pay more farmers to grow less wheat raised with contaminated fertilizer, while increasing our production of organic corn," droned a balding human congressperson.  
  
"Thank you, Senator. Next on the agenda, the final report from the committee on the analysis of whether extra F.B.I. investigation is necessary into the former secret government agency for the protection of our country..."  
  
Yawn. I should go back to that interior design show...  
  
"...Which is publicly known under the code-name of 'G.U.N.'. Senator, you have the floor..."  
  
There are only a few things that can scare me that badly.  
  
One is, "Now let's see what happens if I stick it in the other way!"  
  
I heard that one a surprisingly large number of times while working with Eggman. It's a good thing I can move fast enough to avoid third-degree chemical burns.  
  
However, another thing that that also starts up the alarm bells and red flags in my head is anything about G.U.N. or whatever they've been involved in. I can't help it, not after fifty years.  
  
"...We have determined that the G.U.N. Organization in and over itself is fundamentally sound," said whichever Senator that was talking, "Extra government control would be considered unwise, but as the initial secrecy of G.U.N. is no longer possible, we must consider it."  
  
"And what of the former commander of the G.U.N. Organization," asked someone else, "The one-time General Alfred C. Vox?"  
  
I couldn't help but snicker. Vox's first name is 'Alfred'?  
  
"Clearly, it was highly negligent on our part to allow him to hold that positon in the first place," answered the Senator, "We will hold a full military tribunal for the former General as soon as he is brought into custody."  
  
Okay, those last three words _had_ to have been a mistake. There's no way -   
  
"What do you mean, 'when he is brought into custody', Senator?"  
  
"Unfortunately, Vox has eluded all efforts on our part to apprehend him. We have reason to believe that during his tenure as the head of G.U.N., Vox created an underground network of similar organization to use as he pleased, and has escaped us by use of this network."  
  
I found myself bristling and hissing involuntarily at this unpleasent turn of events. And even as I took a second to force this decidedly reptilian reaction back down, I was fixated on the next words of the Senator.  
  
"Vox originally received the position as the head of G.U.N. due to his delivery of invaluable data and his other work during the First ARK incident, details of which are unfortunately still highly classified. In fact, the former General was one of the leading active members in the Bernoulli Space Station program, of which the Space Colony ARK was the first unit launched."  
  
...What? He was...Vox had been...  
  
"But there should be no serious worries about Vox," the Senator concluded, "It has been determined that the majority of material he allocated himself from the G.U.N. Organization was primarily experimental scientific technology and archive files aged forty years to eighty years."  
  
"Thank you, Senator. Now, next on our agenda for today, a nationwide drug cartel bust that -"  
  
The TV switched itself off as the remote fell right out of my suddenly nerveless hands.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
...Well?  
  
Was that worth the wait?  
  
Time of next chapter update: who knows? *ducks under rock* DON'T KILL ME! *pulls out bucket of water for use on flames* 


	19. MultiplePersonalitySyndrome doesn't exis...

Only one review?  
  
I know I've been bad about updating, but I have SA2 now! My brain works again!  
  
I hope more of you review this chappy then you guys did the last one. Then again, the plot's going to go a little funky after this point, so maybe you'll all hate it and leave.  
  
Oh well. Only way to know is if you read on and find out!  
  
I don't own Sonic, I own Cross, Vox, and stuff I've mentioned about a hundred times already  
  
Here we go again!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I don't know how I managed to get any sleep that night.  
  
...Oh wait, yes I do.  
  
I was actually halfway out the door before I realized that there was nothing really to worry about. Sure, having Vox on the loose with 'experimental scientific equipment' is a bad thing, but who said he was after me again/still?  
  
The idiot was probably trying to grow his own Project Cross. Not only would that take years, the newly-hatched little bugger would easily finish Vox off.  
  
Then I'd put it on some rocket and fire it into the sun. Problem solved.  
  
Still, I did need to hold onto my Emerald before I could even begin to relax. Then I fell asleep.  
  
Nice, quiet, dreamless sleep.....  
  
********************  
  
'...Foolz...'  
  
I yawned and stretched myself out.  
  
'They thought they could juzt get rid of me. I zhall enjoy hunting them down and making them zcream for mercy!'  
  
This body was only a pathetic shadow of my original self, but it would do for now. I bared my fangs in amusement and held up the Emerald.  
  
So, the fool human was still alive, was he? With his suspicious 'scientific equipment' and his 'files'. I could use things like that - after all, there _was_ the matter of that worthless worm to deal with. I'd have to get rid of it _eventually_.  
  
Tossing the Emerald onto the bed, I went out the door and outside. There was a storm out tonight, but to my superior senses it was nothing. I already knew what I was looking for, and nothing was going to stop me while I was out on the hunt...  
  
*********************  
  
________________________  
  
...I felt the life flickering wildly underneath my claws.  
  
Now, to crush it from this thing forever!  
  
It would pay for what it had done, for what it had taken from me!  
  
My former power was gone, scattered, but I would find it all again and then -  
  
What?!  
  
Attacked!  
  
I had been attacked!  
  
I screamed in my rage and leapt onto the THING that had dared to attack ME!  
  
It fought back, but I could taste its blood even as it tried to hold me down.  
  
...This thing tasted like me, somehow...  
  
...It WAS me!  
  
It was a part of me!  
  
Relief!  
  
Already, one of the pieces of my original self was here!  
  
Once I had it back inside me where it belonged, I would destroy the one that had done this to me...and anything else that got in my way!  
  
"Consume, must consume..." I hissed.  
  
"Must absorb..."  
  
And then...  
  
"Must destroy!"  
  
_______________________  
  
I woke up so suddenly I nearly screamed from the shock of it. Then I groaned.  
  
'Not another one of THOSE dreams...'  
  
I thought that had been a one-time thing! This was getting disturbing. At least there was no one around at the crack of dawn to watch me having bizzarre nightmares about things I don't -  
  
...Wait a second...  
  
...Where am I?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Put THAT up your fife and smoke it! Hmph! 


	20. All shall Fade

A bit of a delay on this one, I know, but it couldn't be helped. Another active SA2 fic, plus about four more that I'm working on in my spare time (Spare time? What is this strange thing of which you speak?), plus life in general have done their best to run me into the ground.  
  
Okay, I'll admit this fic is getting a little 'odd' by this point. I'd like to think of it as being slightly less Drama-focused and slightly more SciFi-focus. If you have problems with it you can go back and pretend that the story ended at Chapter 15...  
  
Disclaimer/Claimer: See my previous chapters.  
  
If there are any stupid complaints on the quality of my story or anything else about me in general, I will be hosting a discussion group for your flames on Feb. 33rd in the year 1000000004. There will be free cookies!  
  
(PS: For the record, I have randomly decided that SA2 takes place in the year 2000...you'll find out why soon enough)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Somewhere in the dark, a screen flared to life. Binary code and scrawls of color whirled across its surface until it cleared, showing an old newsreel in black and white, coupled with bright and cheery music.  
  
"Dateline News, March 1924: Strange Ruins discovered on an island in the Antarctic Region! Esteemed Archeologist David Newbound claims that he has found proof of a vanished civilization, long lost before the dawn of time."  
  
The picture shows the archeologist - a human - waving at the camera while standing outside a monolithic structure. His assistants - another human and two cats - are seen examining something on the wall in the background of the shot.  
  
"Professor Newbound, what can you tell us about your amazing discovery?" asks a voice.  
  
"Well sir, it appears to be some sort of temple, and it was built a very long time ago," answered the voice of the archeologist, "The frescos in the main chamber are particularly unusual..."  
  
The picture changes.  
  
Now it shows the drawing on the wall. Made of different colored stones placed together, in the old black-and-white recordings and the glaring lights it is hard to make out. All that can be easily discerned is that whatever the drawing is depicting, it is something with many long, whip-like arms.  
  
________________________________  
  
I was whole, once.  
  
I was as I should have been.  
  
Something happened.  
  
Something changed.  
  
What I was changed from what I had been to something new and different.  
  
Something that was terrible.  
  
Something that was wrong.  
  
________________________________  
  
There are words on the screen now, yellow letters highlighted on a field of gray and black.  
  
"New York Times, August 29th, 1930. Archeologist David Newbound was placed under arrest yesterday for disruptive behavior and assaulting members of the scientific community after receiving a severe criticism of his past work while attending a conference at Harvard University.  
  
"Professor Newbound, having spent the last twenty-two years working on the ruins of the Altecla peoples, located on several small islands off the coast of Antarctica, returned to the United States to attend this meeting of learned minds.  
  
"The highlight of new developments at the conference was the presentation of Professor Gerald Robotnik's 'spherical space colony' design, which has already recieved full government backing. The last event of the conference was a presentation by Professor Newbound on his latest findings.  
  
"The Altecla ruins are the oldest known Mobian-made structures, but so far little is known about the peoples that built them. Possible funding for further research was withdrawn after Professor Newbound made several startling and cryptic statements on his findings."  
  
'The Altecla worshiped a mighty being, and this being their writings name 'Alta-Balruk'. The translation meaning 'Unity Master'. This Alta-Balruk was in fact an actual creature, whom the Altecla record as being a extraterrestrial organism in origin. An intelligent life form from another planet that the primative Altecla took as their God and worshiped, until they destruction by people or peoples unknown!'  
  
"Professor Newbound went on to remark that there was sufficient evidence to prove that this supposed 'alien being' still remained in the lowest, as yet unexplored, areas of one of the Altecla temples. When University staff attempted to escort the Professor from the stage, he became violent and shoved staff members off the stage when they attempted to restrain him.  
  
"While being forcibly removed by University police, Professor Newbound shouted repeatedly the words, 'He is coming, all will fail, I have seen him, all will die'. The Professor is currently being held for psychiatric evaluation, while the Altecla Ruins are now officially off-limits for all travel."  
  
__________________________________________  
  
What has happened?  
  
I do not understand this.  
  
I scream in agony, though I possess no voice.  
  
Time does not pass, yet I grow.  
  
Why am I trapped here?  
  
Time passes, and I fear it.  
  
I fear what I have become.  
  
I must become myself again.  
  
When I am grown, I shall seek out the pieces.  
  
Then I will be me again.  
  
_____________________________________________  
  
The screen shows a plain picture of the archeologist, now very old and very tired-looking.  
  
A voice speaks.  
  
"June 3rd, 1957. David Newbound, former professor of archeology, was found dead today in his room at his home in the Shady Hills Sanitorium and Mental Hospital. Cause of death: suspected foul play.  
  
"The former professor Newbound was accredited with the first discovery of the Altecla Ruins, travel to which is now banned. After twenty-two years of on-site research, Newbound was admitted to Shady Hills after physically assaulting members of the scientific community during a convention at Harvard University, where he has remained for last twenty-seven years.  
  
"The direct cause of Newbound's death was attributed to a heart-attack, but the heart-attack was determined to be caused by a significant electrical shock. There is no equipment capable of such shocks availble to residents at Shady Hills. Shady Hills was holding its annual Open-House celebration a day prior, and it was only when Newbound did not come out from his room the next day that it was discovered that he was dead by an orderly.  
  
"Newbound was unmarried and had no living relatives at the time of his death. All of his possessions remain securely locked inside his safe in Shady Hills. Newbound left no Will."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anyone that understands fully the depths of this chapter's plot is as strangely twisted as I am.  
  
...  
  
Good for you! 


	21. The enemy of my enemy is a backstabber

Sorry for the long wait, ya'll! Circumstances outside my control delayed the creation of this chapter until now.  
  
On a totally seperate note, Happy B-day to me!  
  
Eh, it had to be said. You're only 18 once, or some such thing. Whatever.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sega, or Sonic, or Shadow.  
  
Claimer: I DO own a SINGLE COPY of SA2B. Note, I said a COPY, NOT that I take credit for the game itself. I'm still a little miffed at loosing a couple of chapters over here. I also own this fic and Cross. (Well, DUH.)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It's official: something is SERIOUSLY wrong with me. I think I've read about this somewhere too. Blackouts, ending up in places you never been to without any memories of how or why you got there...  
  
Speaking of places, where I am right now appears to be someplace that's very tropical. I can see what's either a really big lake or an ocean way off in the distance, and judging from the total abscence of certain stars in the sky, I may even be in the southern hemisphere.  
  
Am not complaining about the weather, but I think I might be los- I mean, I am slightly uncertain as to where I should go now. Because I don't GET lost.  
  
....But as for HOW I got here....no clues on that are forthcoming. This little vacation spot isn't near any sort of civilization, so how did I get here?  
  
//Do you really need to guess?//  
  
"Ya-HAAAAAA!"  
  
What the heck was THAT?!?!?!  
  
//Feh. You really ARE an IDIOT.//  
  
Voice...inside head...must recover from sudden heart attack...  
  
Wait a second.  
  
I RECOGNIZE that voice.  
  
And if that voice is the voice of who I THINK it is...  
  
...............Although it would explain a heckofalot.  
  
"If this turns out be both wrong and stupid, I will gladly agree to carry bags the next time Amy goes shopping," I said, speaking loudly and clearly. "Ahem.....Project Cross?"  
  
I received one blissful moment of utter silence. And then...  
  
//Honestly, I would have thought we'd gotten close enough for you to drop that whole 'Project' nonsense.//  
  
Hello, worst fears confirmed. As if my existance couldn't get any weirder.  
  
"I thought you had been pulled out of me," I commented.  
  
//Not really. Our, shall we say 'Merged' personality, was what was pulled out of you. That left me short one body...but there's so MUCH empty space inside your head that I knew you wouldn't mind me moving in at all.//  
  
"Lovely," I rolled my eyes, "And in that case, I can assume you have managed to relocate me to...wherever we are...despite that whole 'noncorporeal' issue? Where is this and how did I get here Cross?"  
  
//It's called 'Chaos Control', knucklehead; and WE are located within the confines of the Amazon Rainforest. I believe that's inside the human country called 'Brazil'. And there is no time for this pathetic chattering. I only allowed you to wake up because I have a proposition for you.//  
  
Turning around revealed two Chaos Emeralds sitting on the ground behind me: mine and another one. I picked them up while mulling over what my personal squatter had just said. His having the power to control my body at will was definitely not a good sign. I could almost sense his prescence in my head now, a sort of heavy sensation. I couldn't pick up any stray thoughts from it at all.  
  
But then again, he couldn't 'hear' me think either, so we were even there. Besides, what had Cross just said? Something about a proposition?  
  
"...What sort of proposition are you talking about?" I asked.  
  
I could hear him laugh.  
  
//You don't actually get a say in it,// he said with a big mental sneer, //But I figured that you MIGHT want half of the perks as well as half of the work. My proposition for you, my spikey predecessor, is that we forget our differences and work together to take out our mutual enemy.//  
  
"We have a 'mutual' enemy?"  
  
//That surprised me as well,// Cross agreed, //But a little judicial checking revealed that there is a single human that you and I both hate the most. A former General Vox, I believe his name is.//  
  
"Vox?" I kept my voice as neutral as possible, but inwardly I was seething.  
  
I do hate Vox. I used to hate humanity in general, except for Maria and the Professor of course, but that had resolved itself. Now, all that hatred had lingered in the back of my mind, and redirected itself towards Vox. That fool was the reason I was now stuck with a hitchhiker in my brain.  
  
"What about Vox?" I asked.  
  
//Hmph. You at least know that the fool is hiding from the world with his 'old records' and his 'secret equipment',// Cross said, going straight to his sarcastic point, //I know how to find him.//  
  
"Just because you know how doesn't mean anything," I countered, "Besides, what, exactly, did he do to you?"  
  
//Well, I suppose I might as well tell you. This could even be interesting to you. I have spent much of our recent time looking for certain pieces of equipment, pieces that Vox has either taken for himself or had destroyed, along with the plans to construct those devices.//  
  
"I hear talking, but nothing is being said," I mentioned, as if speaking to the wind. Cross seemed only amused.  
  
//What I am saying, idiot,// he said in a snide tone, //Is that I want to eliminate your pathetic little human because he has single-handedly managed to destroy almost every single machine that I need if I ever want to LEAVE your pathetic little head! Does that mean anything to you or not?!//  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
This is too good to be true. It has to be. I haven't done anything to get a break this good!  
  
//It's not like its a difficult concept,// Cross snapped, clearly loosing his patience, //I grow a new body for myself, and then there's this handy toy that will allow me to transfer my awareness out of your skull and into its new home.//  
  
"And what happens after that, Cross? Do you plan on trying out your new body by attempting to kill me?"  
  
I heard him chuckle.  
  
//We'll see. Who knows, maybe I'll just move on. Do something else with my life. It's not like I NEED to interact with you anyway. I don't even carry any lingering fondness for such acts.//  
  
'You and me both, parasite,' I thought.  
  
But still, a chance to end Vox's wrongdoings, plus get Cross out of my head for good, was not something I could afford to pass up on. Even if I DID have to associate with the nasty green bug.  
  
"Well then, Cross," I said, "It looks like we'll have this truce of yours. Until you get out of my head: then, all bets are off."  
  
//Sounds like a marrrrr-volous plan to me,// Cross purred.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mu wah hah hah hah hah hah! I love my evil plot twists!  
  
Oh, and final note: anybody that needs to see the old Chapter 9 (I describe what Cross looks like with his own body), just leave me your email and i shall send the chapter over for you.  
  
Don't worry, I'll post the next one a whole lot sooner!...I think... 


	22. Short End of the Deal

Okay, so maybe I didn't post this one so quickly...  
  
I think I'll just stick up this disclaimer I found and go wallow in my own guilt now...  
  
wanders off  
  
(Disclaimer: I am not a crook)  
  
"Two words," I snapped, "Life Experience. I've broken into a heavily armed military base before and you haven't."  
  
Once,Cross pointed out, And I know for a fact you didn't do it by yourself.  
  
'And I'm alone right now?' I wondered.  
  
What was going on right now, for those unaware, was possibly the most pathetic scene conceivable: I was arguing with a green parasitic monster on who got to be in charge of my body for our little mission.  
  
The plan itself was a fairly simple one: break into a government base and steal some sort of transportation that would take us to the place that Cross insisted Vox was hiding out at. He was hacking into computer databases for a week before our truce, so I believed him when he said he'd found Vox's base.  
  
I had some issues with actually needing transportation, but Cross had some sort of problem with Chaos Control - I only knew that it made him uncomfortable for some reason - so here we were.  
  
"Why did you even bother waking me up, if I'm not going to be DOING anything?" I asked, feeling really frustrated by this point, "If you want to do everything yourself so much, just forget our stupid deal and take over already!"  
  
Touchy, touchy,Cross hissed back at me, All right, then let's see what you can do, hedgehog.  
  
Great. And now for the annoying part. I stayed hidden amidst the low foliage while creeping closer to the far walls of the base.  
  
This was not a GUN base, nor had it ever been one. This was an actual military base, deep in the Amazon. I could see soldiers marching around and some tanks lined up. They could not see me, of course, partially because I am extremely good at sneaking around under bushes and partly because it was the middle of the night.  
  
Furthermore, all of these humans were very relaxed. They weren't expecting any trouble.  
  
The long-range vehicles are kept in an underground bunker,Cross mentioned.  
  
Getting in wasn't that tough either. I pried the cover off of a ventilation shaft and climbed in, then I snuck out of the shaft into a deserted storeroom. Cross even refrained from making smarmy comments about what I was doing - I suppose he hadn't felt confident of getting past the security himself.  
  
The corridors were going to be a different story. Brightly lit, with no hiding places. They were deserted for right now, but that would change: there would be at least a token guard patrol on each floor. Taking one last look around, I began walking. The military had helpfully posted signs to keep people from getting lost, and so I was being lead to the hanger by big yellow arrow signs.  
  
"Did you see the game last night?"  
  
Uh-oh - I barely ducked into a branching corridor before a pair of the soldiers from before walked past me. They didn't look my way, but the main corridor was long and straight in both directions. If one turned around, they'd see me - if one turned around RIGHT NOW I was toast.  
  
"No, I was on gate duty until 1145 hours...so, who won?"  
  
I leapt up behind the two of them: one good kick to the back of their necks dropped them both. Then I had to drag them one at a time into the branching corridor, before heading for the hanger at a run. They'd be missed and I'd be found out sooner or later...  
  
Unfortunately I was discovered. Three soldiers and a technician on the hanger floor noticed me as I went past in search of the hanger itself: there were no helpful signs on this higher-security level.  
  
"Hey, you're not allowed access in here," the soldiers yelled.  
  
If they chased me, they'd alert the whole base - I bolted right towards them, dodged the handle of a rifle that was being swatted at me, only to be hit right between the eyes by the wrench of the panicking tech. Normally, a mere wrench would not even have phased me, but I was already tired and Cross's ever-present prescence was distracting.  
  
Then three rifle-butts began hitting me in the head and I hit the floor...  
  
What's that saying? When you want something done right, it must be done yourself!  
  
The idiot had been knocked senseless by three humans and a wrench! I was almost ashamed to be seen with him...but no matter.  
  
Taking control of the body was easy enough. The humans backed off when I leapt to my feet and grinned at them, baring the lovely fangs that had grown in on this otherwise ugly form.  
  
"What is that thing!?" the humans yelled, before I was suddenly upon them.  
  
I so wanted to hear them scream and beg for their misrable lives...unfortunately, if my plan was going to work we needed to get out of here undetected...so I simply snapped their necks as quickly as possible and released my control. There was no real need to have such an annoying body if I couldn't have any fun in it anyway...  
  
I was wondering if the word overkill was applicable to the carnage Cross had left behind him when I spotted the red light on the wall going off. A silent alarm?  
  
The high-pitched siren that suddenly starting going off overhead sure wasn't silent.  
  
"Reinforcements are coming...where is that stupid hanger anyway?!"  
  
You are so PATHETIC! Walk over to that computer, before anyone ELSE finds us!  
  
I walked over to the computer and waited for whatever was supposed to happen. All of a sudden I felt groggy...so tired...and my vision was dim...but...  
  
Somehow, even though I felt like I was mostly asleep, my body was moving! Cross was using my body to hack into the computer system at high speed, pulling up a floor map. So this is what his control felt like when I was fully aware for it!  
  
"As you can see, the way to the hanger is left, right, pass four, and then another left," Cross said with my mouth, "So hurry up and lets get out of here!"  
  
Once he let go of control, I felt awake again and started running. At full speed, I got to the hanger in less than three minutes. There were some planes, some jeeps, and some things that looked like hovertanks with jet engines attached to them. None of the planes were ready to go, but one of the hover-things was, so I sprang for it.  
  
The guards, unused to seeing partially green and scalely hedgehogs stealing military equipment, opened fire. Bullets bounced off the armor of our new transport as I managed to quickly find the throttle and shoved it to maximum. The hanger doors were only half open, but they and the reinforced fences beyond were easily dealt with.  
  
"Well, this is impressive," I made a point of noting aloud.  
  
Hovering tanks, big deal,Cross snorted, At least you got the one with a full tank of fuel.  
  
"So now what happens?" I asked.  
  
"Now," Cross replied as the cockpit suddenly went dark around me, "You let me take care of the rest from here."  
  
Okay ppl, that purple button isn't just there for decoration.  
  
Tell me you love it, tell me you hate it, but at least TELL ME YOU READ IT!!!!!!! 


	23. Explosions are a Project's best friend

My comp went nuts when I was uploading the last chapter. Sorry, everybody.  
  
Hopefully THIS chapter comes up just fine! Because we are nearing some good parts!  
  
And if you don't like them I'll cry......sniffle.....

Disclaimer: It was like that when I got here! Honestly!

* * *

It has never occured to me to wonder what its like being hypnotized. But I'll bet being under Cross's little 'body-control' was almost the same thing. Whatever he was going to do next, he had such a high level of influence over my body that after a while, I really stopped caring.  
  
I actually stopped caring if Cross was going to double-cross me. I stop caring if he was going to destroy the world after he got his brand new body.  
  
As a matter of fact, Cross could have tried inhaling water and I wouldn't have cared about drowning. It was like I was in some kind of drugged stupor - and I didn't care about THAT either!  
  
Of course, looking back on it would make anybody uncomfortable, but at the time I, as I have already stated, didn't care.  
  
Not caring didn't mean I wasn't paying attention to what Cross was doing with my body, of course. He was busily flying the hovertank I/we had stolen. We were over a large body of water - the ocean? - and headed, according to the compass, dead south.  
  
It was a five-hour flight before Cross's target came into view on the radar. Some islands off the mainland coast. I wasn't sure exactly where we were because my little green hitchhiker wasn't talking to himself. Anyway, all of the islands had some big, old stone buildings on them, but the island with the biggest building also had some not-very-old high-tech defenses added to it.  
  
"And now for the entertaining part," Cross said with a dark chuckle, speaking more to let me hear it than for any other reason.  
  
He shoved the throttled past maximum and set course directly into the highest concentration of guard bots he could locate. They were scrap metal in six minutes, with the hovertank careening onwards to slam into one of the power generators and blow the whole thing sky-high.  
  
Cross was, of course, safely outside the tank before it hit anything. In the confusion, no one noticed him sneaking from the edge of the island to the nearest wall of the huge and very old stone building.  
  
'An ancient temple,' my brain informed me, and for a second I wondered when it had been made and by whom.  
  
After the second was up, I stopped wondering at all.  
  
My mostly-black personage easily blended in with the pitch-black stone as Cross made his way towards the main entrance. Most of the bots blocking the way in had gone to check out the many explosions coming from the ex-power generator, leaving only three. Cross seemed to enjoy smashing them into their basic components - so much for stealth - before hurrying inwards.  
  
At least he still seemed to be following the plan he'd told me about - he didn't stop until he found the room with Vox in it. There was also a lot of strange-looking equipment, some of which Vox and his cronies were using. Apparently curious, Cross snuck his way across the room to get a better look.  
  
"I'll show them all," Vox was growling, "I'll create a weapon of such power, the world shall BEG for a chance to serve me! Muwahahahaha!"  
  
He was beinging to sound disturbingly like Eggman.  
  
"It's finished, sir!" one of Vox's technicians said.  
  
When 'It' was displayed, Cross snorted quietly to himself in sheer disbelief. If I had been in my right mind at the time, I probably would have burst into giggles.  
  
Vox's so-called 'supremely evil geniusness' had produced...  
  
...A very large laser gun.  
  
Granted, it had legs and could move around, but how, exactly, was a laser supposed to be at all threatening? At least Eggman was creative in his weapons of 'destructive mayhem' and so forth.  
  
Vox was hopping around like a kid that had gotten a new bike for his birthday. He climbed right onto the laser's control chair and began practicing how to aim the stupid thing.  
  
"Once I unleash this lovely little toy on those fools that tried to stop me," Vox cackled, "Control of the world shall be mine!"  
  
He was just starting to laugh again when Cross finally decided to make a move. He stepped into the open, getting everyone's attention immediately and bringing Vox's happy mood to a dead halt.  
  
"What the - YOU! Project Shadow! How did you find my hidden base?!" Vox demanded.  
  
Cross laughed, before speaking and making no effort whatsoever to sound like me.  
  
"You DARE compare me to that one?! He can't even keep me from taking control of his pathetic body whenever I want! The only creature I find more laughable is you. As for your base, a blind rat could find this place with one hand tied behind his back. And it took ME even less time to do so."  
  
"What are you?" Vox wondered, "You sound just like -"  
  
He gasped.  
  
"Project Cross!"  
  
"That's 'Supreme Being' to you, human," Cross sneered.  
  
"But you're supposed to be dead!" Vox yelled.  
  
"The reports of my death are all greatly exaggerated," Cross replied, "And now, pathetic human, I would put that little toy gun away before you hurt yourself. Despite your immense ego, I am only here for certain pieces of equipment that you are unlucky enough to possess."  
  
Vox suddenly looked grim, and his laser gun on legs suddenly swiveled to point directly at Cross.  
  
"Such a shame that you won't be alive much longer to use that equipment," Vox sneered.  
  
Then Vox opened fire. Cross was able to avoid the green blast with ease - if I had been in control I would have scorched the ends of my quills - but the large machine directly behind us - whatever it was - glowed bright green, before melting into what smelled like bright green acidic sludge. It began eating into the floor, meaning it must have been very acidic after all.  
  
Vox was laughing as he kept taking shots at us. Cross was firing right back with my Chaos Spear and his own Nightmare Ring, not letting himself get hit. Vox's laser gun was also running around, preventing Cross from landing any hits.  
  
And that's when Sonic and the others walked in. 


	24. And just who are YOU supposed to be?

Must...stop...reading...other fics...long enough to...finish...own...  
  
Just kidding. I am writing my own stuff quickly. I'm just too lazy to post right away.  
  
...As if any of YOU wouldn't enjoy sleeping to 1 PM every day. Jeeze, let a girl enjoy her vacation once in a while!  
  
BTW, I have here for you the ONLY chapter that will not be in Shadow's POV. If you've been following the story, he's in no shape to actually notice anything for a while anyway. He'll be back soon, though, so don't worry folks!  
  
Until then, please endure Sonic's POV. It will be over soon.  
  
Disclaimer: The distortion you are seeing is normal. Do not attempt to reset your computer.

* * *

The first words that came to mind in this situation were 'Oh, shit'.  
  
We had spent most of the last month tracking down Shadow, who had apparently gone suddenly insane, and now here he was trying to beat the bejeezus out of our dear friend Commander Cueball. Baldy was toteing a big laser with legs, Shadow now had fangs, and a lot of stuff had melted into icky green goo.  
  
Plus, Shadow didn't look exactly happy to see us.  
  
"What are YOU irritants doing here?!" Vox bellowed at us, when he finally noticed us.  
  
"We're on one of those island tours," I told him, unable to keep from smirking, "Cause this happens to be the biggest tourist attraction this side of Mexico! Didn't you see the signs out front, Vox?"  
  
"I thought we were here to find Shadow," I heard Amy whispering to Rouge when I finished talking.  
  
"Is that a fact?" Vox sneered, "I'm afraid your little vacation is going to be canceled. Leave right now, or I turn your little black friend into a puddle of smoking black goo."  
  
"If you are going to make idle threats," Shadow said in a voice that was definitely NOT normal for him, "Can you at least make then ones you could actually carry out? Your aim is embarassing, even for one of your ridiculous species."  
  
Vox went so red that he actually began going purple around the edges, before opening fire on everything at once with his walking laser. Tails grabbed Amy and headed up; Red and Rouge took to the walls as well. Leaving yours truly to dodge on foot.  
  
No sweat! It was even kinda fun, leaping and rolling and running circles around the laser blasts.  
  
...Okay, so maybe the ends of my quills were getting toasty. Big deal - Vox was still missing me. As a matter of fact, he was trying to hit Shadow way more than me or any of the others. The still mostly-black hedgehog was moving like I'd never seen him move before, easily avoiding every single thing thrown his way.  
  
Was it just my imagination, or was there something...wrong...with how he was moving?  
  
I had seen the Faker fight - and fought against/beside him - enough times to know what his fighting style was like, and this was NOT his fighting style.  
  
Why was he trying to kill Vox, anyway? After all the time he spent settling into normal life...what could have made him act so weird?  
  
Especially...when he tried to aim an attack AT ME!!!  
  
"What are you DOING?! Have you lost your MIND?!" I yelled as he followed up his attack with a really big Chaos Spear.  
  
"No: you are merely becoming a nuisance," Shadow replied with a smirk - and since when did he get fangs, anyway?! - before powering up for a really big attack.  
  
An attack I even recognized. I was too busy gaping in horror to get all the way out of the way before I was sent on a one-way trip to the ceiling by the attack known far and wide as Nightmare Ring.  
  
It hurt, a lot, but before I could enjoy the experience of crashing into the floor below on top of it, Knux grabbed me by the arm and hauled butt back to the corner where the others were waiting. I shook him off as soon as there was floor under my sneakers.  
  
"Okay, somebody tell me I was NOT just blasted by what I think I was just blasted by," I said.  
  
"Sorry," Rouge said, "But that was definitely Nightmare Ring."  
  
"How can Shadow use Cross's attack? We tested to make sure and he can't use ANY of those attacks!" Tails demanded.  
  
"That's cause Shadow _can't_," I said, realizing what had been staring me in the face all along, "There's only one creature that can."  
  
The nearest machine was half-melted, half-blown to pieces, leaving us in clear view, as I stepped forward. Vox paused in his crazed barrage as 'Shadow' smirked at us from atop of another machine.  
  
"My ears are burning," he cackled, "Care to share this little insight with the rest of us? So secretive...whatever happened to information between friends, hmm?"  
  
"You're no friend of ours - _Project Cross_," I snapped back, hearing the others gasp.  
  
Now normally, I'm a laid-back kinda guy. Even when things seem there worst, I can always find a funny side to things that lets me relax. Well, I always figured there would be one time that I couldn't relax, and it hit me like a thunderbolt the instant that Cross threw back his head and laughed.  
  
"Half right! Half right!" he cried between giggles, "Your little friend's still in here! He's watching everything that's going on! But as far as you're concerned, this is MY body!"  
  
"Shadow! Snap out of it!" Rouge yelled, apparently coming to a really quick conclusion.  
  
"Please," Cross sighed, "Scream all you want to, he can't retake control unless I let him. He might as well be unconscious - I've already gone back on the little deal I agreed to make with him and he can't do a thing about it. Any and all equipment for creating a seperate body and sending my awareness into that body has been destroyed...but there's still plenty of equipment left to improve THIS body."  
  
"Your old tentacles weren't good enough for you? Now you need metal ones?" I asked. My voice only sounded incredulous, but I had never felt so angry before in my entire life. I think I was shaking under the strain of it.  
  
"As if I'm going to tell YOU anything," Cross sneered, "Die in ignorance!"  
  
A dozen balls of light appeared in the air above us: one also appeared in Cross's hands.  
  
"Not as powerful as it used to be, but still effective," he said with a wistful sigh, flicking the one he was holding into Vox's walking lasergun to demonstrate.  
  
With a flash of white light, the machine blasted into pieces. Vox screamed, but the scream cut off in the middle, leaving the rest of us with a very unpleasent mental image of what was going to happen to us.  
  
Cross hopped over to the only other door in the room - the one that the survey record Tails found said went into the lower levels of this temple place - and gave us all one final smirk.  
  
"Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog," he said, looking right at me, before disappearing into the doorway.  
  
As soon as he was gone, the white balls of Cross's Scatter Bomb began to fall.

* * *

How's that?


	25. Insert X Files theme music here

Almost done! We're almost done!  
  
You people should really appreciate all the hard work I put into this fic, you know. Instead of having a job or going to college in the summer, I chose to sit here at my computer and think of interestings things to post.  
  
The air conditioning isn't too bad either. LOL.  
  
Disclaimer: I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove that I did anything.  
  
We now return you to your regularly schedualed POV.

* * *

The way the ground was shaking bothered me. Like there was something I was supposed to be doing...  
  
/Where am I?/  
  
I could see dark corridors stretching out into infinity as we headed further down the stairs. We would pause at each entrance before moving on, heading down, down...down to what?  
  
/What am I looking for?/  
  
Bottom of the stairs. A huge, dome-roofed room with a black pit in the middle. Stuff on the walls glowing.  
  
'Lichen,' my brain supplied, 'Moss that glows in the dark.'  
  
/Why am I here?/  
  
"Pathetic human scum," hissed a voice,"Where did he PUT it?! I must find it..."  
  
Was that my voice?  
  
...  
  
Strange...I don't think it was my voice.  
  
It came out of my mouth, though...  
  
/When did someone else start using my voice?/  
  
"Damnably unefficient and disgusting _mammalian_ body," the voice cursed, investigating the walls for any sign of a hidden passageway.  
  
/Who is that?/  
  
Whoever this was, they were talking through my mouth and using my body.  
  
So, why wasn't I using my own mouth and body?  
  
/Didn't we have a deal?/  
  
There had been a deal...  
  
(("He might as well be unconscious - I've already gone back on the little deal I agreed to make with him and he can't do a thing about it. Any and all equipment for creating a seperate body and sending my awareness into that body has been destroyed...but there's still plenty of equipment left to improve THIS body!"))  
  
...  
  
The deal was...he had gone back on the deal...  
  
/...How come I didn't notice that before now?/  
  
My head was seriously starting to hurt, not really used to holding two seperate and conscious minds at the same time. One of us would have to go to sleep to make the pain go away.  
  
/I shouldn't have to go back to sleep. It's my body. He's had a long enough turn being in control of it./  
  
...Who, though?  
  
The name was right on the tip of my tongue...  
  
"Oh well," sigh the voice, bad-temperedly, "At least I got to kill those annoyances. That was fun. Especially finishing off that pathetic wretch Vox..."  
  
A thunderbolt struck my brain.  
  
Vox.  
  
The deal was that we'd both go after Vox.  
  
Vox, who had been the idiot stupid enough to reawaken Project Cross...  
  
/Cross...it was **Cross**.../  
  
In a single second, the world snapped into clear focus for the first time in hours.  
  
Everything upstairs had been destroyed in Cross's Scatter Bomb. Vox...all the machines...the others...  
  
'Oh no. No.'  
  
Who knows how long it had been since Cross had first gotten control of my body and taken off. Not knowing about Cross's prescence, they would be concerned about me, and try to find me. The military might have even tipped them off when we stole that hovertank. And now they were...  
  
"Pagh. My own fault for trusting information in a database created by a HUMAN," Cross snarled, "It's the wrong place. Of course! What a waste of time..."  
  
...Well, no matter what had happened, I was not about to let Cross go running around, doing whatever he wanted to do, in my body. These were my hands, my arms, my feet and my head. Not his. MINE.  
  
"This body seems to get even more sluggish the longer I have to use it," Cross muttered as he turned and headed back towards the stairs.  
  
"If you're feeling so sluggish in there, Cross-" cut in an entirely different voice, "Why don't we have a little workout!"  
  
Cross was knocked headlong by a blue blur. One that I had never been happier to see in my life.  
  
"Pathetic hedgehog," Cross snarled as he got up again, "Why can't you just stay DEAD!"  
  
"Don't you know by now that you can never keep a good hog down?" Sonic laughed as he danced easily out of the way of Cross's attack, "Maybe its time you gave up. Don't forget that Shadow lost - to me!"  
  
"So what? That just proves that he is inferior to me - because _you_ are certainly not a threat," Cross growled as he sent another Nightmare Ring at the blue hedgehog.  
  
That one hit a glancing blow. Rubbing the scorched fur on his arm, Sonic abruptly dropped his easy-going facade.  
  
"The army got here right after we did, Cross. And they know how to rip you out of Shadow's head. Really, you'd be better off just cutting loose right now."  
  
Cross paused, before breaking into laughter.  
  
"Oh, you are as clear as glass to me, hedgehog! Clear as vacumn! You don't want to hurt your _precious little buddy_ Shadow. You want to SAVE him! Oh, you are a laugh and a half, blue furbag! I'll kill this body before I let you have it back. That, and anything that might be left of your precious Shadow's mind...not that there would be any by this point!"  
  
"What the heck are you talking about, Cross?" Sonic demanded.  
  
"An unfortunate side-effect of my control," Cross sneered, "Permanent apathy...inability to return to full consciousness...brain-death...take your pick! I have more..."  
  
'...Brain-dead, am I?'  
  
Despite the truly painful way my brain was throbbing by now, I focused all my attention on one of my legs. Just as a starting point. Even as Cross began running, I concentrated.  
  
My leg...it was MY leg...and I...was...NOT...moving.  
  
The jet on my left leg cut out within seconds, and Cross fell flat on his - my, really - face. Sonic stopped too, watching in shocked disbelief at the sight.  
  
"What in the name of...?" Cross began, before realization struck him.  
  
/What do you think you're DOING?!/ he screamed at me mentally.  
  
/Isn't it obvious?/ I retorted, /I'm taking my body back!/  
  
Thus was started a full-blown war for control. While Cross and I attacked each other, mind against mind, our body - MY body - began thrashing wildly, each limb receiving a conflicting pair of commands and attempting to obey both at the same time.  
  
I temporarily regained control of my head long enough to discover Sonic standing right by me with a completely flustered expression.  
  
"Shadow?" he gasped.  
  
"A - little help - please?!" I managed to get out, before Cross shoved me out of the way.  
  
"How am I supposed to help?!" Sonic demanded, not realizing the instant change.  
  
"You - CAN DIE!" Cross shrieked, lunging for Sonic's throat.  
  
The blue hedgehog dodged with a yelp, but by then I had already regained enough control to shove my body away from him, and Cross's attack fell short.  
  
I had a slight advantage over Cross - a better ability to focus on my body than he had - but he had been right about the side effects of his control being harmful to my mind. We were only at a temporary stalemate, one that could swing his way any time...  
  
With all this to worry about, I don't know why I even heard that sound.  
  
It was a faint tinkling sound...made by my Chaos Emerald as it slipped out of my pocket...and bounced towards the huge pit in the center of the room.  
  
Time seemed to slow down as all three of us - me, Sonic, and Cross - looked to see the Chaos Emerald roll to the edge and fall in.  
  
I remember waiting to hear the sound of it hitting bottom...for a while, it seemed, there was no sound whatsoever.  
  
And then...there was a faint 'plop!'.  
  
Following almost instantly by a deep, thundering roar as something shot up towards the ceiling.  
  
Whatever it was, it swept out to engulf the entire room, including Sonic and me/Cross.  
  
The only real impression that I got of it before we were swallowed up was that whatever this thing was, it seemed to be made up of long, whip-like arms... 


	26. Last Call

At last! Can it be? Is it even possible? YES! IT IS! It's the ACTUAL LAST CHAPTER OF THE FIC!  
  
(cheering, bells and whistles)

Thank you, everybody that stayed with us on our epic adventure through my insane imagination! Go on and enjoy this chappy 'cause you deserve it for putting up with all this!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sega, Sonic, or anything else invented by anybody besides me Glorious ME!

* * *

. 

I could see it happening, as if it was happening in front of my very eyes. No, more like it was actually happening to ME...and for some reason I was a strange shape made up of a thousand arms, eyes, and teeth.  
  
It had been an Exodus. With only primitive spacetravel, escape from their doomed world was more risky than staying behind. But still they left, spherical ships containing a dozen ((Shppaings)), each one barely forty rotations out of their ((Puuds)), and every ship soaring through space like scattered marbles.  
  
Then the landing. There had been an accident, damage to the controls. Instead of the gentle sea landing which had been planned, a harsh crash into land. A cloud of black smoke leeched from their disintigrating ship rose, spreading all over the planet and poisoning the once-pristine land. Many native species had died, but within a few thousand rotations new ones had evolved to take their places.  
  
Not so with the ship's passengers. The previous enviroment had been the better one. The tempature changed too much, was too extreme. Even the air had gone bad. Those that had survived the crash died, one by one, eaten or frozen or suffocated.  
  
Until only this last one remained.  
  
Seeking a ((Qool)) to hide in, it descended to the depths of natural caves and waterways. Then some of the newly evolved animals had discovered it. The first of these almost intelligent ((Skkrt)) had built strange stone objects and performed unusual behaviors, until another variety of ((Skkrt)) destroyed them all.  
  
More recently, yet another sort of ((Skkrt)) had found this ((Qool)). More than one, until they ceased coming. The first one had been engulfed in an attempt at understanding, but it proved to be too much strain on the ((Skkrt)) unusual mind.  
  
A different ((Skkrt)) had taken one of the precious ((Puuds)). Far away, something had happened to the ((Puud)), and now it was strange and wild.  
  
And now, more of the odd new evolving ((Skkrt)) were here, along with one of their strange (Tsssh). But now something extremely remarkable had happened.

.

.  
[**Fascinating. We never before realized that any of you ((Skkrt)) were actually intelligent.**]  
.

.  
The 'voice' I heard then, although it really wasn't an actual voice, somehow snapped me out of the weird trance-like state I had gone into. I wasn't one of, of...whatever this thing was, I was Shadow.  
.

Yeah, that sounded about right.  
. 

.  
Everything was distorted. Whatever this was, it was like it was me and I was it, and it was inside my head and I was inside its head, all at the same time...sort of like what had happened to me with Cross except that I still kept my seperate identity.  
  
...Yes, I know it sounds bizarre, but thats the only way I can describe it. And it wasn't just me...I could faintly 'hear' someone else as well...Sonic.  
  
Oh, man, I just landed in Weirdo City...  
  
Hmm. I seem to recall being able to do this sort of thing before.  
  
Sonic? I thought at him.  
  
Whoa! he yelped. Huh? Shadow?  
  
Just don't start screaming this time, Faker.  
  
Wow, that's some way to great a concerned friend you got there. And don't call me Faker, that's my word for you.  
  
I've been held prisoner inside my own body by a psychotic lizard for I don't even know how long, I think I'm allowed to be slightly grumpy. Speaking of which...  
  
Yeah, Cross was bad enough, now we have TWO big tentacled things to fight, Sonic complained, Somebody want to explain what's going on here?!  
.

.  
[**Please pardon our sudden intrusion,**] came the non-voice, [**We are not here to fight you. You will be released unharmed when we finish speaking.**]  
.

.  
Speaking about what? I asked.  
.

.  
[**...It is strange to us, speaking to you. You are ((Skkrt)), but you have minds. We have dealt with many ((Skkrt)), but only when the ((Tsssh)) touched us did we understand.**]  
.

.  
...I'm hearing words I don't think I can say, Sonic said, sounding suddenly amazed.  
.

.  
[**First, we will remove our ((Puud)). We are sorry that it has been a danger to you, but another ((Skkrt)) removed it from us and altered it. Now that we can taste the alterations, we can remove it from you without difficulty.**]  
.

.  
Altered? What's he talking about? Sonic asked me.  
  
I wasn't entirely certain...until I suddenly caught a glimpse of one of the alien's memories, showing me what a ((Puud)) actually looked like, and it was something I had seen once before.  
  
It means Cross, I said, All this time...Cross was actually a modified piece of an alien...  
  
Great. Just when I thought he couldn't get any more freakishly weird, Sonic grumbled.  
.

.  
[**We will take our ((Puud)) now,**] said the alien's mind-voice.  
.

.  
I am not going ANYWHERE, snarled a new voice. One I knew all too well.  
  
Is that Cross?  
  
Give it up, Cross, I growled, You're gone.  
  
NO! he screamed, This body is MINE! The only thing going anywhere is YOU!  
.

This part is a little hard to describe, but suddenly Cross and I were fighting on a mental level again. Except that this time he was forcing my consciousness right out of my own body. And now he was even stronger then he'd been ten minutes ago!  
  
I wasn't about to let him win that easily, though. I had a strong mental grip on my body, and nothing short of the end of the universe was going to make me let go. Cross caught on to that fact soon enough, and added 'angry psychic stabbing' to his attack.  
. Cross wasn't even thinking in words anymore, his mental state fragmenting. As long as I had known him, Cross had always been a little on the crazy side, but now he was officially insane. And as far as our fight was concerned, his insanity gave him an insane amount of power.  
  
I could faintly hear Sonic yelling something, but I couldn't concentrate well enough to understand him. I could also faintly 'hear' the mind of the alien creature, and also something else, like a strong light that you can see with your eyes closed...  
  
The Chaos Emerald.  
  
Everything that was going on was taking place inside the alien's currently semi-liquid body. The Emerald was just drifting by my hands when I spotted it. And it gave me an unusual idea how to get Cross out of my head once and for all.  
  
I focused on my hands, and grabbed the Chaos Emerald. Then I focused on the Emerald.  
  
Chaos....  
  
'Please work...'  
  
CONTROL!  
  
There was a sudden flash of light.  
. 

.

.  
Now, in order to fully understand what I did, you really need to be experienced in using Chaos Control. And to have a really good understanding of what Chaos Control is and how it actually works.  
  
Very basically, a low-level Chaos Control has the ability to freeze time around the user. A high-level Chaos Control allows the user to phase/warp from location to location. Otherwise known as teleportation.  
  
The thing is, the phase/warp sends the user into another dimension, before yanking them back out into this one wherever they want.  
  
In this case, I Chaos Controlled to the exact same spot I had just been in. And when I Chaos Controlled...my body and my conscious mind both phase/warped.  
.

Cross didn't.  
. He let loose a howl as his consciousness was ejected from my body, but that was immediately cut off as the alien mind did whatever it had been planning to do with him. I had a funny feeling that Cross had just ceased to exist, but any other thoughts in that area would have to wait until I wasn't feeling utterly drained.  
  
Shadow? Sonic's mind sounded practically timid in worry. Are you okay now?  
  
...Ask me...whenever I can start...moving again, I sent back to him.  
. 

.  
[**Thank you for returning our ((Puud)) to us,**] said the alien.  
.

.  
Thank YOU for getting rid of him, Sonic replied, So, who and what are you anyway?  
.

.  
[**Ourself does not have a designation that your ((Skkrt)) minds can comprehend, unfortunately. We believe the original ((Skkrt)) of this area perhaps had such a designation which they might have used, but it will be of no matter. As soon as you and your ((Tsssh)) are released from us, we will seek a new ((Qool)). You will not see us again.**]

.  
.  
Um...I guess...good luck on that?  
.

.  
[**Thank you. Goodbye.**]  
.

.  
And with that, it dropped us. Luckily we were only a couple of feet off the ground. I turned just enough to watch as the watery-looking mass of tentacles began pulling back into the hole. I spotted several dark lumps that could have been eyes, teeth, or even more ((Puuds)) before the whole mass vanished from sight.  
  
"Chalk up another victory to the good guys!" Sonic cheered as he helped me up.  
  
"Right now I would really love a pain-killer," I groaned, head still aching.  
.

"Here's a pain-killer for you: you owe the military four thousand dollars for that tank-thing you stole and then destroyed," Came Rouge's voice from behind us.  
  
Everyone else was there, perfectly whole and alive.  
. "Too bad. They can't prove I stole it," I replied.  
  
"You do understand the concept of a security camera?" she asked me.  
  
"Of course I do," I said, "However, the hedgehog that took that tank had fangs and scales. As you can see, I don't have those."  
  
As you can see, I was the first one to notice the extra bits on me from Cross were gone. It was a major relief as well: I don't look good in green. 

.

* * *

And they all walked off hand in hand into the sunset, swearing to be friends forever, etc., etc., THE END.

* * *

ANNNNNND WWWwEEEEE AAAAARRRREEEEE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNEEE! 

.  
Translations (for the alien-language impaired):  
  
Alta-Balruk: Altecla name for this alien species  
  
((Shppaing)): sub-adult Alta-Balruk  
  
((Puud)): small pod-like sac that Alta-Balruk hatch from, located on the tentacles of adult Alta-Balruk  
  
((Qool)): term for secure living area, like an underwater cave or other hidden water source  
  
((Skkrt)): Alta-Balruk name for what they consider normally unintelligent animals, usually warm-blooded animals  
  
((Tsssh)): self-generating power source resembling ones created by Alta-Balruk on their original home planet

.  
Hah! And that's all, folks!


End file.
